Slender Thread
by jane0904
Summary: Next in the Mal/Freya 'verse. River and Jayne are still on Persephone, but this doesn't stop Mal and his crew finding trouble on a derelict ship that might just kill them all. Please read, enjoy, review! NOW COMPLETE but more to come.
1. Chapter 1

_Later …_

"I can't stop it, Mal!"

"That opens up, we're all dead!"

"You think I don't know that?"

"Do something!"

"Nothing's working …"

He slammed his hand on the com. "Kaylee! Get out of there. Now!"

---

_Before …_

They made delivery of the cattle to Achaeon with no problems on the way, bar a somewhat heavy odour that seemed to find its way into every crevice of the ship. Sir Warwick Harrow's estate appeared to take up the entire southern continent, and as they came in to land, they flew over herds of horses, scattering from the noise, and in the distance there were other dark masses moving over the lush grasslands.

"Nice place," Hank murmured. "Amazing what having money does for you."

"Doesn't buy you happiness," Mal said, leaning on the back of his chair.

"No, no. But you can be gorram comfortable in your misery."

"I'll just be glad to get our four-legged passengers off my boat."

"Yeah, but Bethie likes them." Hank tilted the thrusters and cut back on the power.

"She likes anything that breathes and don't talk back." Mal shook his head a little. "I think she sees 'em all as big puppies."

"Just so long as she doesn't attempt to talk you into letting her keep one."

Mal put his hand on the pilot's shoulder in an almost benevolent fashion. "Hank, she already tried."

---

The estate manager was more than pleased. "These'll be the basis for a good herd," he said, running his hands over the back quarters of one of the cows, who kicked out slightly. The man avoided it easily, his economy of movement speaking of long practice.

"I figured they were more quality than the usual beef on the hoof," Mal agreed, standing leaning on the holding area railing. Even without Jayne's help it had been easy to get the cargo off Serenity. "Smooth lines."

"You know your cattle?" The manager was surprised.

"Didn't always captain a Firefly. Grew up on a ranch. Fair-sized herd."

"Well, you've not lost your eye. These are all from good stock, and Sir Warwick is looking forward to increasing the value of his holdings here."

"He often come out?"

The manager shrugged. "Once in a very long while. He says he intends to retire here, but since he shows no sign of wanting to leave Persephone …"

Mal smiled. "Yeah, he likes being someone, doesn't he?"

"That he does. And some of the stories I could tell …"

They shared a private laugh, then it was back to business. "There's something to be going back?" Mal asked.

The manager nodded. "A crate." His hands sketched a box some metre square.

"Cigars."

"He told you?"

"I guessed. But, yeah, he confirmed it."

"Pure Achaeon's. Some of the finest in the sector, and there's Persephone not allowing them to be imported." The look on the manager's face spoke volumes. "It's not right."

"Always trying to get in a man's way," Mal agreed.

"Can you deliver them … quietly?"

"I've been doing things quietly all my working life," Mal assured him, ignoring the look he was getting from Zoe as she stood next to him. "And that's two reasons I'm actually glad one of my crew ain't on board. He'd've taken one look at those steers of yours and we'd have had a barbecue, whether I said yes or not, and I wouldn't mind betting you'd've been a few cigars short of the box by the time we got back to Eavesdowne."

"I'm sure I can find a few for him," the manager said, smiling broadly. "Sir Warwick has a number of friends he supplies, and as he has asked me to extend every welcome to you, I know he won't mind."

"I think he'd be grateful."

"If someone could come into the house, I'll get the remainder of the money together for you. The crate is inside too."

"Zoe."

"Yes, sir."

"And can I offer you anything else? Food? Perhaps a drink? As I say, Sir Warwick was anxious to -"

Mal shook his head. "No, but thanks. We need to be getting back. Things to do. You know."

"Of course."

The manager walked towards the large mansion, and Zoe went to follow, only pausing at Mal's elbow. "Doing things quietly, sir?" she asked.

He glared at her. "You can be replaced."

"I'm on my honeymoon. Hank wouldn't approve." She smiled and strode off after the estate manager.

_---_

_Now …_

"It still smells in here," Kaylee said, wrinkling her nose a little. "'N' I've got the scrubbers turned up high as I dare. Much more'n' she'll burn something out."

"I rather like it," Simon admitted, pulling her feet up so they lay in his lap. They were sitting in the common area, letting the food that Freya had prepared for lunch have a chance to digest. It was slow going.

"You do?" She looked at him in surprise.

"It's … warm. And it reminds me of, well, of home."

"Your home smelled like a barn?"

"Of course not." He ran a finger down the sole of her foot and she twitched, the slight jolt sending pleasurable signals to his brain. "But one of our neighbours had a stable, and occasionally I'd go riding with their son."

"And you liked the smell?"

"If you'd ever been in our house, you'd understand. My mother was a stickler for cleanliness. Every room was spotless, every floor shone, and the smell of pot pourri …"

"Poe por-what?" She pronounced it the way he had, or at least tried to.

"Dried flowers. Scented with something sickly." He shuddered. "There must have been a fashion for it, because all of her friends' houses smelled the same, for at least a couple of years. Believe me, the odour of a stable was infinitely preferable."

"Good job you had a friend with horses, then."

"Well, he was the same age as me, but … the truth is, it was about the only thing we had in common."

"Didn't get on, huh?"

"Not particularly. He was something of a bully, to be honest. And after I hit him that time, he never spoke to me again. And I was so upset."

His sarcasm melted over her and she giggled. "Yeah. Right. But what did he do to make you hit him? And how old were you? What did your parents say?"

Simon smiled, counting off on his fingers. "He pulled River's pigtails and called her a moron then wouldn't apologise, I was twelve, and my parents were so angry that I'd been fighting they took away my source-box privileges for a month."

Kaylee's eyes were wide. "He called River a … that's crazy."

He shrugged. "He was jealous of her, I think." A thought occurred to him, and he added, "I hope. Just so long as it wasn't some kind of horrible infatuation …" He exhaled heavily and shuddered.

"And you hit him?"

"On the jaw. Knocked him over." He grinned at the memory of Bradley Camberson sprawling back among the bales of straw, the horses looking down their noses at him with curiosity.

"You know, that's nothing to be proud of," she pointed out. "Brawling at that age."

"It wasn't a brawl," Simon insisted. "He just sat there on his backside and … cried."

"Oh, Simon …" She was trying not to laugh, biting her lip. "How could you?"

"Okay, I admit it. I felt guilty." He grabbed hold of her feet. "And besides, you should talk. I seem to recall you telling me about the time you had a knock-down fight with one of your cousins because he stole your –"

"That wasn't the same thing at all!"

Simon rubbed her instep. "No?"

She sighed in contentment. "Well, maybe a little. So what else did –"

"Do I have a mechanic, or just someone playing footsie with my doctor?" Mal demanded, stomping down the stairs.

Kaylee laughed. "Nothing wrong with footsie, Cap'n," she said, waggling her bare toes at him. "'N' Simon was just telling me how the smell of cows reminds him of home."

"Really?" Mal looked at the young doctor, his eyebrows raised.

"Well, that wasn't quite –" he began, but his wife interrupted him.

"You said it did."

"I said it –"

"As interesting as this might be, it actually brings me to another point," Mal put in quickly before they could start. "My boat still smells of 'em - cows, that is, and they've been gone nigh on two days."

"I got the scrubbers working full time, Cap'n," Kaylee said, sitting up straighter, bristling just a little as she always did when she imagined someone was slighting her ship.

"And it sounds to me like they're fixing to bust, if the clanking from the engine room's anything to go by."

"Clanking?" Simon smiled. "Is that a technical term?"

"From what I heard it's pretty much descriptive, doc." Mal crossed his arms. "And if something's likely to explode, I'd rather you stopped it right now."

Kaylee quickly got to her feet, her mind swiftly running through all the possible things that could be … well … clanking. "Serenity ain't gonna explode."

"'Cause I'd be sorely tempted to make you walk back to Persephone if it does."

She raised an eyebrow at him, then decided that wasn't enough. She stuck her tongue out too, before scrambling into her shoes and running up the stairs.

"I don't pay you to be taking time out," he called after her. "Nor you," he added, turning back to Simon.

The young man stood up slowly. "Well, since I've counted the medical supplies until I can recite them in my sleep, and no-one appears to be in the slightest danger of getting shot right now, I'm at something of a loose end."

"I'm sure I can find you something to do."

"Oh, I'm sure you could." Simon patted Mal on the arm. "In fact, I'm positive you could." He smiled and ambled back towards the infirmary, a certain insolence in his gait.

A soft laugh came from the door into the cargo bay. "No-one's letting you be captain, eh?" Freya said, leaning on the bulkhead.

"Since when did he grow a pair?" Mal asked, crossing the common area towards her and resting one arm on the railing.

"Oh, some time back. I'm surprised you haven't noticed."

He grinned. "Not saying I didn't. I was merely wondering out loud when it was."

"Probably about the time he got his sister out of the Academy."

"Prob'ly." He climbed the steps slowly. "They okay? Her and Jayne, I mean."

Freya nodded. "It's not like it was unexpected. And she had her family around her."

He paused on the step below her so his face was on a level with hers. "I guess. It's just hard losing a mother."

"I know. Even when they're still alive." She drew her thoughts away from her own family. "You know, this makes Jayne an orphan."

Mal burst out laughing. "The least likeliest example you'll ever see," he said, shaking his head. "The man's older than me."

She moved her lips closer to his. "I'm just saying, he needs some TLC."

His voice raised an octave. "Tender loving … woman, you expecting me to coddle him?"

"A little. Long as I can watch."

"You are devious. And disgusting."

"Hope so." She smiled and closed the gap even more, their mouths just barely touching, tongues just beginning to taste …

She stilled, her body unmoving.

"Frey?" He looked into her eyes, seeing her unfocus. "What is it?"

"I'm … not sure."

The proximity alert broke in on them, sounding throughout the ship, followed by Hank's voice hard on its squalling heels.

"Mal, you might wanna get up here. Something I think maybe you should see."


	2. Chapter 2

Mal jumped the steps to the bridge and felt his breath catch in his throat as he stared out of the window, hand reaching out to lean on the back of the pilot's chair. "What the hell's that?"

"Didn't even see it coming until the alarm went off. Nearly hit the damn thing 'fore I could get the lights on it," Hank admitted. "Look." He switched off the external spots. "See? Or rather, don't see?"

"Bring 'em back up," Mal ordered, a thread of ice creeping down his spine even as he felt the rest of the crew come up behind him.

"Scary, ain't it?" Hank said as he complied, and the ship hanging in space in front of them became visible again.

Mostly. Where the Firefly's illumination reached it directly, they could see hull plating, metal seams, odd patches of deeper black that could possibly be windows, but beyond that, where the ambient light should have at least reflected and picked up corners and created shadows was … virtually nothing. Just a cold blank area with no stars. Only by swinging the lights across it were they able to even guess at its shape – a fat cigar, like the ones in the smuggler's hold, but with no protruding features.

Zoe was holding her breath, staring out. "Alliance?" she asked softly.

"There's no markings I can see," Hank said, his voice equally hushed. "No indication who she is, where she came from … She's just … there."

"Beacon?" Mal didn't mean to sound peremptory, but it came out that way.

The pilot shook his head. "Nothing. I been hailing too, once I got over my fright, but there's no answer."

"How come we can't see her properly?" Kaylee asked, moving up next to her husband.

"There's rare metals that soak up light," Simon said unexpectedly. "We studied them at MedAcad since most of them are toxic." He pursed his lips. "Although to find enough to cover an entire ship that size … it would be prohibitively expensive. Even if you could avoid poisoning the crew."

"Maybe it's some kind of -"

"Kaylee, we don't need to know how they do it," Freya interrupted, her unease making her rude.

"Sorry."

Mal hadn't taken his eyes off the vessel outside. "Anything on the sensors? Lifesigns?"

Hank checked the scans again, and almost growled in frustration. "She's hardly showing a damn thing at all. Just a kind of …dead spot."

"Dead spot. Interestingly put." He glanced at Freya. "You feeling anything?"

She didn't answer for several heartbeats, then bit her lip, consternation furrowing her brow. "I … I'm not sure. It's almost like there is something alive but …" She shivered. "I don't know, Mal."

He put his hand on her arm, and could almost feel her trembling. "Frey, you okay?"

She nodded, trying to smile for him. "Just feel like someone's walking over my grave."

His eyes softened. "Dead spots, graves … you trying to tell me something?"

"She's open to space," Hank said suddenly.

"What?" Mal glared at the man then back out of the window.

"Look." The pilot pointed to where one of their spot lights was hitting an area just coming into sight as they moved slowly around the other ship.

Mal moved forward a step. "_Tzao gao_."

"Yeah."

It looked like a cargo hatch, but maybe was more likely for internal storage of a shuttle from the size, since there was no evidence this ship had ever been built with intention to land. Not that it mattered what it was used for. The cover was gone, missing entirely, and only a gaping hole remained, jagged metal for once gleaming where the explosive bolts had thrust it away.

Mal crossed his arms, suddenly feeling cold.

"Looks like maybe they abandoned ship," Hank added.

"Maybe."

"So no survivors in need of assistance?" Simon asked.

"Doubt it." Hank tried the sensors once more, but with no better luck. "No beacon, no distress call … Truth is, she could have been here years. Like I said, there's no markings, no registration, and I've just run a check through the Cortex. There's nothing even approximately relating to it anywhere, official or not."

Kaylee stepped slowly past her husband as if drawn to the apparition outside. "Ain't never seen anything like this. So different from any ship I've ever come across before …" Her voice faded.

"Hey, maybe it's aliens," Hank joked, but no-one laughed.

"Mal, I think we need to leave this be," Freya said, moving closer to him. "There's something very wrong here."

"It does seem to chill the blood a little," he agreed. "Just hanging here."

"We _are_ off the usual trade routes," Zoe said. "It's possible no-one's ever come across her. No beacon, hardly registering on the sensors … it is possible."

"If we hadn't almost run into her we'd not have known, could've passed by just a hundred metres or so and never seen her. But she's … well, different," Hank objected. "Someone must've been looking."

"And we found her," Mal finished. "Not that it's gonna do us any good. She's too big to tow for salvage –"

"Cap, can't we go take a look-see?" Kaylee asked, smiling uncertainly at him. "You know, just check maybe there ain't something of value on board?"

He looked down at her. "Not sure that's such a good idea, _mei-mei_. Remember last time we took a look around a derelict? My leg still aches when it rains."

"It don't rain in the black," she said pointedly.

"Yeah, well, you tell my leg that."

"And this one won't explode."

"You can guarantee that, can you?"

"No, but –"

Freya stirred. "Kaylee, Mal's right. It's better we just slip on by this ship. Say a prayer if you want, but we shouldn't go any closer."

_Frey? _Mal thought, somewhat concerned at the paleness of her complexion, but she just shook her head slightly.

Kaylee wasn't about to let it go, though. "But it'd only take an hour, maybe less –"

"No, Kaylee!" Freya's voice rang sharply through the superstructure, and the others stared at her in mild shock. She took a deep breath and tried to sound more reasonable. "Kaylee, just because you're curious doesn't mean we have to go on board. We're heading back for River and Jayne, who are waiting for us I might add, we've got cash in our pockets … we don't need to –"

"Well, actually, maybe we do." Kaylee looked down at her feet, somewhat sheepishly. She didn't like getting told off by anyone, least of all Freya, since it happened so rarely, and it made her wary. "That clanking sound the Cap heard? The regulator on the aft alternator's packing up. Gonna need a new one."

"Are you telling the truth, little Kaylee?" Mal asked.

She looked up at him, glaring him straight in the baby blues. "I never lie about Serenity."

He felt his lips twitch at her vehemence. "Can she wait? For a reconditioned regulator thingy?"

She shrugged, not commenting on his verbal switch from new to reconditioned. "I guess. Probably make it to Persephone okay. But it'll put more pressure on the control linkages, and that'll make the grav thrust –"

"Kaylee." He stopped her, one hand raised. "I get the picture. More or less. But there's no reason to suppose that ship'll have one that fits."

"They're pretty standard. It ain't like it was designed specifically for a Firefly or anything. And even if it didn't fit right, I could prob'ly make it work 'til we got back to Eavesdowne." She was looking hopeful now.

He dropped his head so that he could look at her under his eyebrows. "And you're promising me that we need this part, and it ain't just 'cause you wanna go nose around a ship you've not seen before? That _any_ of us have seen before?"

She had the grace to smile. "Well, I can't say it ain't tempting. You know, see what makes her go."

"She ain't going anywhere," Hank pointed out. "And I'm getting the feeling it ain't gone anywhere for a long time."

"Then maybe I can figure out why that happened too." She was almost dancing on the spot with anticipation as she turned back to Mal. "Don't you wanna take a look yourself? Not just 'cause there might be something valuable on board, but just so you know you did? Ain't you even a little bit curious?"

Freya looked from Mal to Kaylee, then back again, and she could see his resolve was wavering. "I don't believe this," she murmured, then said, louder, "Mal, don't. We can limp into Persephone if we have to. But please don't do this."

He sighed. "Why? Frey, you've been jumpy ever since we saw this thing, but you ain't said why."

"I … damn it, I don't know!" she admitted, throwing her hands into the air. "A feeling. A premonition. Whatever the hell you want to call it."

"Can you be more specific?"

"I wish I could. But something's wrong."

"It's just a ship, Frey."

"That's out here, abandoned, and looking like nothing you've ever seen before! You said it yourself. Gorramit, Mal, why won't you listen to me?"

He put his hands on her shoulders. "I do. And if River were here I'd listen to her too and I'd –"

"If River were here …" She gave a bark of laughter, with no humour in it whatsoever. "Oh yes, you'd listen to her, wouldn't you? Just not me. You don't trust me right now, do you?"

His face closed down a little. "You know that ain't the case."

"No?" She stared at him, holding her mind in check, not looking, not wanting to see. "You haven't since Three Hills. Not really."

"Don't do this," he asked, his tone verging on an order as his fingers dug a little deeper into her flesh. "Not now."

"Then ask Bethie! See what she thinks if you don't believe me."

His natural stubbornness started to assert itself. "Frey, it ain't that I don't believe you. But everything that's happened over the last month or so, River putting out all that static … it's bound to make you antsy."

She stepped back. "Antsy …"

"And Bethie'd probably pick up on that too, how you feel," he went on, regardless of the look on her face.

She closed her mouth tight over all the words that wanted to come spilling out. "Fine. Do whatever you like. Your boat. What you say goes." She shook her head, backing away from him. "Captain." About as sarcastic as she ever got, she turned and strode off the bridge.

There was an awkward silence for a long while, then Mal straightened his spine. "Kaylee, you sure you need this part?"

She looked guilty, her normal buoyancy punctured. "I …"

"Is the ship gonna break down before we can get back to Persephone?"

"Maybe. I don't know."

"Best guess, Kaylee. You're the mechanic. Best one floatin', so what you say goes."

She tried to be objective, not let her intense curiosity over the ship hanging out there influence her judgement. "It'd be a push. And if the regulator goes, it'll take more with it, and even if it doesn't, the strain –"

"Fine." Mal turned to Hank. "Can we get a seal?"

The pilot shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "No. I've been watching, and there's nothing like a docking hatch that I can see. Just that hole in the side."

"Okay. Then get us close as you can, and we'll take a walk." He turned and walked off the bridge, saying over his shoulder as he went, "Zoe, prep the suits."

"What's going on?" Kaylee asked, looking at each of her friends in turn.

"Not sure," Hank admitted. "Not honestly sure."

---

"Would you like to tell me what that was all about?" Mal asked, dropping down into their bunk.

"Why ask?" Freya wasn't looking at him, appearing to be concentrating on tidying the desk. "Why ask what I think, what I feel, when you just go ahead and ignore me?"

"I didn't ignore you."

"No?" The tension radiating from her back was almost palpable in the small room.

"No. But I have to look at the bigger picture."

She span on her heel. "And you think I'm not?"

"Frey, you've not given me anything specific. Just vague feelings of unease. I have to weigh that against what's good for the ship."

She took a step closer to him. "Mal, going over there isn't good for anyone!"

"Kaylee says we need that part."

"She just wants to go and poke about!"

"That too." He sighed and closed the gap enough between them so that he could take her by the arms. "Truth is, I'm not sure I have that much choice. We're still more'n a day out from Persephone, and if the engine goes –"

"Then we'll call someone. Dillon. Or Sir Warwick. Hell, we're working for him." She gazed into his eyes, trying to make him see what she saw, the miasma of darkness emanating from the ship outside.

"Frey, I know you don't like it. I got that. But we'll be careful. Zoe's coming, and –"

"Zoe? Why not me?"

He couldn't hold back the small smile. "Thought you didn't want to step aboard?"

She twitched hard enough to pull herself out of his hands. "Don't make fun of me." She sat down on the bunk, staring at her knees. "I'm not a child, Mal. You don't have to humour me."

"I wasn't." He didn't move, just watched her. "And what was all that crap about Three Hills?"

Her neck tensed as if she wanted to lift her head, but instead continued studying her pants. "Well, you don't. You're still afraid I'm going to do something stupid. Again."

His belly tightened as it always did when he thought about what he could have come back to. The hover settling back into the cargo bay, his memory bright and fresh and clear, jumping to the deck, anxious to see her, hold her, only to be told she'd … "I worry about you, _xin gan_," he admitted. "The possibility that you might … that I'd lose you, it tears me open, Frey."

"Said I wouldn't." Her voice was almost too quiet to hear.

"I know. And it ain't that I don't believe you. I do. But if I lost you …" He went down onto his heels in front of her, dipping his head to try and look into her face. "Life's precious, Frey. Yours more than anything to me. It's such a slender thread, and it breaks all too easily. Seen it often." He put his fingertips under her chin, tilting it up. "I don't want yours to break."

"It won't." She felt the anger drain out of her. "But I don't want to lose you either. And there is something very wrong over there. I wish I could tell you what it was, chapter and verse, maybe with diagrams, but I can't. It's just … wrong."

"Really that bad?"

_Worse_.

"Frey …" Mal looked into hazel eyes just a few inches from his own, seeing the total and utter conviction there, feeling it in his mind as the words formed.

_Trust me._

"Cap?" Hank's voice filtered tinnily over the com. "Zoe says she's ready when you are."

For a long moment neither of them moved, communing silently.

"Cap?"

Mal finally got to his feet and pressed the reply button. "Hank, tell Zoe to stand down. And let Kaylee know she's gonna have to coddle that part. We're leaving."

"Leaving? I thought we were gonna –"

"I've changed my mind. Tend to do that, now and again, or ain't you noticed?"

"Oh, I've noticed."

"So get us back on course for Persephone."

"Whatever you say, Mal." There was a hint of relief in his tone just before the com shut off.

"Thanks," Freya said softly.

"Well, I'm figuring it's kinda crazy for me to have a Reader on board, in my bed, and not listen to her." He looked at her under his eyebrows. "Not that I wasn't listening before, mind. But you've put forward a reasoned argument, and that's not nothing."

Her lips curved slightly. "Reasoned?"

"Well, okay. Maybe not. But like you said, if we break down 'fore we get back, we can call for help. Actually, no, let me rephrase that. _You_ can call for help. Ain't having Harrow laughing at me."

"He wouldn't laugh at you, Mal."

"Sure he would. He always did wonder how I kept this boat flying."

The com sounded again. "Um … Mal?" This time the hesitation in the pilot's voice came across loud and clear.

"What is it, Hank?"

"I don't think we're going anywhere at the moment. Leastways, not yet."

"Why? What's happened?"

"We seem to be … stuck."

Mal swore under his breath and scurried up the ladder, Freya right behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

"Inverse tractor net." Hank looked around at the assembled adults, like he'd performed an amazing trick.

Everyone waited for Jayne to grunt, "Huh?" so they didn't have to, but as the big man was still on Persephone there was silence. It took Simon to say, "I don't know what that is."

Hank might have looked gratified if he wasn't feeling so worried. "It's like a tractor beam, but it's passive."

"No, that still doesn't help."

Mal glanced out of the bridge window at the dark ship. "We're a damn sight closer than we were," he observed. "That have something to do with it?"

Hank nodded. "We were fine just sitting here, even moving around it, but as soon as I tried to pull us away, it pulled back."

"It?"

"Tractor net."

"Then why haven't we crashed into it?" Kaylee asked, taking hold of Simon's hand.

"Because it's an inverse. Soon as I stopped trying to get away, we stopped moving towards it." He shook his head in disbelief. "And believe me, that was hard. Just to stop the engines. Blind faith that we weren't just going to end up a smear on the hull out there."

"Did we trip it somehow?" Freya inquired softly.

"I don't think so. In fact, I think maybe that's what you've been feeling all along." Hank looked up at her. "It's a low grade field, until you do something crazy like try to fly away, but if you're sensitive it might be like fingernails down a chalkboard."

"I've never been susceptible before," she objected.

"Well, I doubt you've come across any before. Took me a while to even remember hearing about it once, long time ago when I was still in flight school." He peered back out at the ship that was causing all the problems. "It was something was bandied about a few years ago, but no-one could make it work properly, and sure as hell not on this scale. It's the same technology that scrappers use for their nets, but being passive it takes more control, more energy."

"So she has power?" Freya moved forward, almost to the thick glass, staring out at the mass almost totally obscuring the stars.

"Must have. Else we'd be on our way back to Persephone."

Mal took a step closer to his wife, feeling her heat still mixed with her concern, even through her clothes. "Is it me or are we still moving?"

Hank looked almost sheepish. "The initial tug put us into a kind of orbit. Slow, but we're circling her."

"And the net. Can you disable it from here?" Mal glanced down at him.

"Nope. Everything I try just bounces back or gets lost. Have to be from in there."

"Great." Mal took a deep breath, holding it until he was forced to let it trickle from his lips slowly. "Well, Kaylee, looks like you're gonna get your wish."

"We're going over there, sir?" Zoe asked as the young mechanic brightened a little.

"Looks like to be our only option." He glanced at Freya, but she was still gazing outside. "At least it won't be too much of a jump."

"Well, the suits are still prepped."

He had to smile at his first mate. "Changed my mind again, it seems."

"One of those days, sir," she said, leaving the bridge.

"Surely does seem to be," Mal murmured. He clapped his hands. "Okay. Hank, you're with us. You seem to know what you're talking about, and you've got the best chance of switching this net off."

"What about me?" Freya asked, turning her back on the disturbing sight outside.

"You're staying put."

"What? Why?" She glanced at the others. "Kaylee's going."

"Only 'cause, in the event Hank can get us free, she's the only one on board able to recognise the part we need, and we might as well kill two birds with one stone." He forestalled her next objection by raising his hand and going on quickly, "Frey, honey, I need you here. If there's trouble, you can come to the rescue."

"Mal –"

"Who else can I trust to look after things for me?"

She glared at him for a moment, then muttered, "_Hwoon dahn_," but there was no heat behind it.

"Besides, you'll have Simon for company." He let his lips lift. "And the kids."

"So I'm to be a gorram babysitter?"

"Hey!" Simon objected, but no-one took any notice of him.

---

The black beckoned to him as it always did, but his view of it was severely restricted by the bulk of the ship hanging in front. He could only see a rim of stars from where he stood on the open ramp, but they were unblinking, unchanging.

"Stop fidgeting," Zoe said, her voice coming clearly through the suit com.

"I wasn't," he replied idly.

"Not you. Hank."

Mal turned enough to see the pilot. He was indeed fiddling with his EVA suit.

"It itches," he complained.

Zoe huffed slightly. "Well, it'll have to itch. You're not going to be able to scratch for a while."

"And I'm not a … a going out on the jobs sort of guy," Hank went on. "I just sit at the controls and look busy."

"Time for that to change." Mal looked at Kaylee. "Ready, _mei-mei_?"

"All ready, Cap." She was smiling widely through the faceplate.

"This ain't a pleasure jaunt, just so long as you remember that," Mal advised. "We're going to turn off the net, and for you to find that part. No wandering off on your own, or opening doors you shouldn't, _dong mah_?"

"_Dang rahn_."

Mal shook his head. Very little kept Kaylee down for long. He turned back to the dark hulk in front of him, watching as Serenity's spots caught the dark hole in her side coming round again. "Okay, people, heads up. Time to go. Frey, we're leaving. Keep the lights on and the engine running."

"And there I was thinking I could go shopping." It was as if she was standing next to him.

"Now you know you only do that when I'm around to carry it." Mal smiled as he pushed off from the Firefly, his momentum carrying him towards the derelict.

"I didn't like to say this earlier, but it did occur to me that we might be caught in the net too," Hank said conversationally as he watched Zoe follow her captain. The line between them tautened and he moved forward. "You know, any kind of motion on our part dragging us into the ship. Flattening us, you might say."

"And you left it until now to mention it?" If Mal could've glared at his pilot, he would have.

"Well, it was just a thought. And we don't seem to be in danger of it."

"Hank, you and me are going to have a conversation when this is all over. Honeymoon or not." He pulled his legs around as best he could, knowing he was going to hit the ship slightly to the left of the opening. As he approached he bent his knees, absorbing the impact. "I'm down," he said quietly, straightening up. Half turning, he saw Zoe do the same, Hank next, Kaylee just a moment later.

"Oh, yuck," the pilot said, lifting one foot. "It's sticky."

"Sticky?"

"Yeah."

Mal leaned forward again touched the surface. It _was_ odd, to say the least, and made his skin crawl. Even through his gloves it felt like something long dead, that clung to his fingers but left no trace when he lifted his hand away. Almost … soft, as if he could push through it and just ooze inside. "Okay, that's weird." He tried to stop the involuntary shudder that raced through him. "But nothing about today so far is much better. So let's get going." He started towards the opening.

"Still gross," he heard Hank mutter.

"Sure is," Kaylee agreed, sounding subdued.

As Mal approached the gaping maw, he felt a slight pull against his body, increasing as he got closer. At least the internal gravity field was working, and they wouldn't have to float around. At the edge of the hole, he leaned in, orienting himself to the interior. They were comparatively lucky – they'd come up at ground level, and just needed to step over the rim.

"Okay, Frey, we're going inside."

Back on the Firefly, his wife nodded, even though he couldn't see. He sounded odd, his normally warm toffee tones caught within the confines of his suit and transmitted across the ether.

"Be careful," she said, leaning forward as if she could make him understand her better.

"We will. Just gonna take it nice and –" His voice cut off. It didn't fade or waver, just stopped mid-word.

"Mal?" She adjusted the volume, the frequency, but there was nothing.

"What happened?" Simon asked, gripping the back of her chair.

"Com's dead." Flicking switches, she ran a quick diagnostic. "Not us."

The young man's face went paler than ever. "You think something's gone wrong?"

Freya shook her head slowly, concentrating. "No. They're okay." She sighed a half-laugh. "Mal's wondering the same."

-

"Frey?" Mal stood still, listening hard, but there was no sound from his radio, not even static.

"What's up?" Hank asked from where they'd walked into the bay.

"Not getting a signal."

Hank fiddled with his own unit. "Me neither."

"Sir, do you want me to –" Zoe began, but he waved his hand at her.

"Just stay put." He moved back out into the open hatch, looking across to where Serenity was setting over the rim of the ship. "Frey?"

"You do that to me again and I'll …" The sheer relief in her voice was palpable.

He grinned. "You'll what?"

"Withdraw conjugal rights."

"Ouch. That's just nasty."

"I'm presuming you're all okay? No missing limbs or anything?"

He could imagine her face all too well. "No, nothing like that. Kaylee's wondering about your side of the conversation, but that's it."

"Looks like we'll be out of contact for a while." Her good humour had vanished.

"Looks like. But you'll be with me?"

"All the way, _ai ren_."

The smile came back to his lips. "They don't know what they're missing, do they?"

"That they don't. And I don't want to miss it either. So you take care, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am. Talk to you soon."

"You'd better."

Mal turned again and headed back into the darkness, his suit radio again silent, but he knew she was there, inside his mind, and her presence was a comfort.

"Everything okay, sir?" Zoe asked.

He nodded as best he could. "Looks like light ain't the only thing gets sucked up. We're lucky our coms work inside, but we can't talk to Serenity right now."

"Then I think we need to do this really fast," Hank said, shuddering slightly. He never felt happy in a suit, and the darkness pressing in around him was making his claustrophobia act up.

Mal understood. "Kaylee, can you get the power up? Least so we can see where we're going?"

She swung her torch around. "Not sure. Might not be … oh, hang on." She walked towards a console.

"Careful, honey!" Hank called. "There's a lot of sharp edges around here. Wouldn't want to have to be carrying you back to your husband."

"I don't know. It sounds kinda nice," Kaylee teased. "But I'm watching my step." She reached a control panel, and after only a moment's study pressed a series of buttons. Lights flickered on, illuminating the entire area.

"Wow," Hank said, looking up.

"How big, d'you think?" Mal asked, his own breath taken away slightly.

"I'd say it goes all the way up to the other side." The pilot exhaled noisily. "Damn, that's high." Something caught his attention and he pointed up. "Look. That's the sweet spot."

The others peered up as best they could.

"What is that?" Zoe's eyes narrowed. "And why isn't it falling down?

They could see something hanging above them, high over their heads.

"It's the hatch," Kaylee said suddenly.

"I think you're right, _mei-mei_," Mal agreed softly. "And I kinda want to know why it ain't crashed onto us too."

"It's the sweet spot," Hank said again. "It looks like the gravity field comes along the central axis, pressing everything out to the hull on all sides. Like they used to on some of the old colony ships from Earth-that-was."

Mal nodded, remembering seeing pictures of space craft shaped like wheels. "Go on."

"It's easier, cheaper too, on something this size, to do it this way. And that point up there is where the two waves meet. Totally weightless. Get into that, you can't fall, either way. Up or down."

"But the bolts blew," Kaylee pointed out. "Shouldn't the hatch've been blown out, not in?"

"Maybe there's another hatch at the other end," Zoe suggested. "If that was opened at the same time as the explosion …"

"Might have sucked it up inside," Mal agreed.

"Hatch must have closed again, though," Hank pointed out. "We'd have seen it."

"Something really ain't right here," Mal murmured to himself. Held captive by the sight for a moment longer, he dragged his eyes away. "Come on, people. As interesting and creepifying as that is, we need to get to work. Hank, any idea where the bridge might be?"

"Well, I was gonna go with the sign that says BRIDGE with an arrow under it," the pilot said, pointing to a doorway at the back.

"Oh. Right." He mentally shook himself. "Let's go."

---

"Are you okay?" Simon asked, seeing Freya press her fingers to her temple. He sat down in the other seat.

"Headache," she admitted. "It's difficult to … I'm having problems keeping up with Mal."

"You mean psychically?"

She half-smiled. "Well, there's no problem with the physical side of our relationship." She pressed harder. "It's just hard to stay in contact."

"Like River and her static?"

"No. Not really. More as if he's a long way off. A lot more than this." She stared out at the dark ship.

"You know, if that ship is absorbing all sorts of radiation – light, radio waves, that kind of thing … it's possible it's absorbing your ability too."

She looked up at him, her eyebrows raised. "Is that even possible?"

"Out here, beyond the Core? I've come to realise that very little is impossible, if you try hard enough. Like finding a wife, having a family … I always thought that would be difficult for me."

"And instead you have Kaylee and two beautiful daughters." Freya smiled. "But you're changing the subject."

"Only because I don't know. No-one knows how the psychic ability works. But our brains use electricity to function, so maybe … I don't know."

"But if you're right, maybe there's a way of blocking a psychic, without having to keep up mental walls." She bit her lip in thought.

"Freya, there was a patient, while I was resident, who swore that aliens were talking to him through his brain. He insisted on wearing a hat made out of silver foil, even after he'd been medicated." He chuckled. "It was very fetching. But it didn't stop him being sectioned, though."

"Are you suggesting I need to be locked up?" she asked, somewhat pointedly.

"I wouldn't dare." He patted her knee and stood up. "I'll get you a painkiller."

She smiled at him. "Thanks," she said, then turned her attention back to the view from the window as she heard him leave the bridge. The smile faded. Something still felt bad, wrong, no matter what Mal or anyone else said. Able to do little more than touch Mal's mind, she stared out into the airless black.


	4. Chapter 4

As Kaylee searched for the part she needed, accompanied by Zoe in case of emergency, and satisfied her itch of curiousness at the same time, Hank and Mal headed for the bridge. To both men's surprise it turned out to be small, not much larger than Serenity's. Its surfaces might have been shiny chrome, but it had an air of lost hope, as if it had been alone for decades.

"Somehow I thought it would be more impressive," Hank said, sitting down in the seat in front of the main console under the screen that spanned the room. His keen eye ran over the array of controls, and in a moment he found the one he wanted. The screen started to glow into life, and suddenly the stars came out. He grunted in pleasure, his claustrophobia easing a little.

"No space for a co-pilot," Mal observed. "'Less one of these is." He touched the back of one of the four chairs facing the wall either side.

"Can't see that's likely. Looks to me more like they're for checking analyses of some kind, but don't ask me what."

Mal leaned forward, and realised some of the dials and read-outs reminded him of the infirmary. "Some kind of telemetry?"

"Maybe. But this ain't like anything I've seen before, so for all I know this could be making sure the coffee machine's hot enough."

"Well, you come across that machine, you let me know. I could do with one right now." Mal returned to his pilot's side. "Can you find the switch for the net?"

"It might take me a while. I don't want to go pressing things I don't have to, just in case something nasty happens."

"Like what?"

"Oh, like maybe the zombies hidden deep in the bowels of the ship wake up and come out to attack us."

Inside his suit Mal raised his eyebrows. "Zombies?"

"Or maybe vampires. Hanging upside down from the conduits."

"Hank, that's it. No more scary movies for you. I've seen you on the late watch."

"Have to have something to do," Hank complained.

"Then take one of your books with you. Honestly, they're bad enough, but horror vids? Banned."

"That's cruel."

"You want me to talk to Zoe?"

"That's worse."

Mal smiled, knowing the pilot couldn't see. "I'm gonna take a look around. Try not to blow us up."

"I'll do my best."

---

Back on Serenity Simon found he had more patients than just one with a headache.

"Daddy?"

He looked up from where he was preparing a hypo for Freya and saw Bethie and Ethan in the doorway to the infirmary. "Hey. What's the matter?"

"Our heads hurt," the little boy said, his face screwed up.

"Then I'd better do something about that," Simon said, smiling. He held out his arms. "Come on."

The two children hurried across the floor to him and he picked them up, sitting them one at a time on the medbed.

"Daddy will make it better," Bethie explained to Ethan.

"I'll try." Simon ran the back of his hand over each of their cheeks. "You don't feel hot. When did it start?"

"When Serenity stopped." She rubbed at her forehead. "Hurts."

"And Mama's worried," Ethan put in. "About Daddy."

"There's nothing for her to be worried about," Simon assured him.

"What's outside?" Bethie asked, her legs swinging.

"Just a ship. We're just taking a little look at it, then we'll be heading back to pick up your Auntie River and Jayne." Simon turned to the cupboard and took out the bottle of junior analgesic he kept especially for the children. "You take some of this and you'll soon feel better." He poured a measured amount into two small beakers.

Bethie shivered. "Don't like it," holding tight to Ethan's hand.

"You've had it before," Simon said, turning back to them.

"Not that. Outside."

Her father was surprised. "Are you picking this up from Auntie Freya?"

Bethie shook her head. "It's like … like a sponge," she finally said. "Sucking everything up. Or a hole, and everything falls down it."

"Nothing's going to fall down, sweetheart." He handed her one of the beakers. "Come on. Drink up. And maybe we'll see if we can't find your mother's cookie tin."

Ethan brightened at that. "Me too?"

Simon laughed. "You too." He gave the little boy the other beaker.

"How many cookies?" Bethie asked, staring at the pale green liquid.

---

"Well?" Mal asked, leaning in the doorway.

Zoe turned to look at him. "I think Kaylee's in heaven, sir," she said, smiling through the glass at him.

"Did she find the part?"

"If the squeal she made when she leaped on something was anything to go by, I think maybe she did."

Mal nodded. "She's deafened me that way myself sometimes. Ain't heard nothing like that since we branded some yearling calves back home on the ranch."

"I _can_ hear you, Cap," Kaylee pointed out, not turning around.

"Never thought you couldn't." He watched the young mechanic at the far end of the room as she pulled panels open and rummaged through packets of wires. "So what's it saying to you, little Kaylee?"

The young woman shook her head, as much as she could inside the suit. "Nothing. Not a gorram thing. Ain't never had that happen before. Even an engine laying out in parts says _something_."

"So you don't know how it worked?"

She turned around so she could look at them. "Oh that, sure. Pretty much a normal Core, good containment … only difference is there's a load of redundant systems. Everything's not just duplicated, but there's at least six of each." Her brow wrinkled in confusion. "No need for that. Decent mechanic can work wonders with a double, so why six?"

"Kaylee, if I knew that I wouldn't need you around, now, would I?"

She laughed. "Course you would, Cap'n."

He smiled at her. "So, I gather you found the part you were looking for."

Kaylee patted the bag next to her. "Found it soon as I came in. They've got storage full of spares." She looked almost excited. "I could build a new engine from all the bits in there." She stepped closer so she could look him straight in the eyes. "Cap, if there's room, I'd like to take some more with us. Just useful stuff."

"We don't wanna be greedy, Kaylee."

"Just what I can carry. Please?"

Mal gazed down into her hopeful face, and noted yet again just how young she really was. A wife, mother and the mechanical wonder who kept his ship flying, and she could still get excited about a few bits of metal. "Only what you can carry. That's it. No-one's making a return journey just so that you can get your space monkeys out to play."

"_Xie-xie_, captain!"

He chuckled at her enthusiasm. "So, any idea how old she is?"

"Not really. Most of the parts could be anything up to twenty years. I mean, they ain't rusted 'cause there's no oxygen, but a lot of things ain't changed that much on engines."

"And the rest?"

"Wouldn't even like to guess what they do." She stared at the engine. "And that's the scariest part."

"Not talking to you?"

"Nope." She chewed on the inside of her lip. "Cap, any chance we can download schematics? I'd dearly love to study this some more, and maybe there might be something useful I could use to help Serenity."

"And I'd like to know what happened here," Zoe agreed.

"I'll see what we can do. But it's best you not worry on that now. You got the bit you needed so it's time we got back."

"Has Hank disabled the net, sir?" Zoe asked.

"I'll go pick up your husband and check. Get Kaylee back to the bay, and make sure she doesn't pick up too much crap on the way."

"It's not crap!" Kaylee insisted, grabbing the bag and hugging it to herself.

"I'll try, sir," Zoe promised.

---

"Any luck?" Mal asked.

"Pretty much." Hank was leaning over the control console. "I'm pretty sure I've disabled the net, but I won't be sure 'til we get back, not with the coms down."

"You can't -"

"No." Hank sighed. "Nothing I do seems to help there. I figure it's something to do with the material this ship is coated in. Kinda sucks up all electromagnetic waves."

"Stealth?"

"Could be. But there's no weapon systems I can find either." Hank spoke quietly, but his words were perfectly clear. "And you know, I will say this. These controls? They don't look to me like they were meant to fly this thing. Not by hand."

"Are you suggesting this thing's got a remote?"

"Not as such. But I can't shake the feeling it was never really meant to go anywhere."

"Can you download the logs?"

Hank checked over the systems again. "I think so. Kaylee's right - there's power, but it's not doing anything more than feeding the accumulators, and they're full. I can reroute enough so that Serenity should be able to pick up something." He turned enough so that he could see Mal through the faceplate. "Why, you curious to know what happened to the crew?"

Mal half nodded, half shrugged. "Kinda. And it ain't just me - Kaylee has the hots to study this ship some more, and even your wife expressed a certain curiousness. Ain't you?"

"I can't say it hasn't crossed my mind, no."

"And there wasn't that much of a crew on board, haven't you noticed? There's only half a dozen cabins I can see, unless there's more elsewhere, and I'm not even sure they were all occupied."

"Yeah, I know. And you're right. About the only thing I could find was this …" He held up a flexible sheet showing what appeared to be a layout of the ship. "Pretty much this level is all there is for crew - everywhere else is electronics and computer systems."

"So you got no idea what this was all for?"

"Not a clue. So maybe Kaylee can make some sense of it."

"Take long to set up?"

"No." His hands ran lightly over the board, despite the gloves. "All I need to do is …" He flicked a switch. "That's it."

"Okay. Good work. Let's go home."

---

"They're coming back," Freya said, the sigh in her voice more relief that her crew was safe than the fact that the painkiller Simon had given her was working.

"That's good," the young doctor breathed. "That's good."

---

"Cap?" Kaylee had stopped just inside the bay.

"Come on," Mal said. "Time we weren't here."

"No. Look." She was staring down at something hidden behind one of the control modules.

Again avoiding the sharp metal points that threatened to tear his suit open, he crossed towards her until he could see what she saw. "Well. Guess maybe they didn't all get off after all."

"Sir?" Zoe called from the open hatchway. "What is it?" She started back towards him.

"No, you stay there. It's just a body. Crew, most like." He studied the corpse for a moment, then leaned down so he could turn it over.

"Oh, God," Kaylee whispered as she saw the broken skull's jagged edges sticking through the desiccated flesh and turned away.

"Probably caught in the explosion when the hatch blew," Mal said softly. His eye was caught by an emblem on the body's jacket, and he smoothed the fabric out. "_Cao_."

"Cap?" Kaylee turned back but he'd rolled the corpse back over.

"It's nothing. Just painfully aware what explosive decompression can do." He stood up. "Come on, _mei-mei_. Your husband'll be thinking you've gotten tired of him and decided to run off with Hank and me." He grinned. "Not that it couldn't happen."

"Don't think it hasn't crossed my mind," Kaylee said, deliberately not looking down. "Mostly when he's got his foot in his mouth."

Mal put his hand under her arm, helping her through the tangled mess that was left of the bay. "He still do that?"

"Occasionally. He's a lot better than he used to be, though."

"So me and Hank ain't got a chance?"

"Sir, I'd rather you didn't go around offering my husband to other women," Zoe said, her voice in his ear.

"It's okay, Zoe," Kaylee said quickly. "Hank's safe. Although I would like to know what he's like in bed."

"Hey!" the pilot said, turning back from staring at the stars. "I am here, you know."

"And it's time we weren't." Mal was firm. "Zoe, you go first with Hank, then Kaylee. I'll be right behind you."

His first mate tried to see him clearly through the faceplate, but he was turned away. "Sir, are we sure everything is all right?"

"It's fine," he assured her. "Just want to get home, is all."

"I second that," Hank put in. "Come on, dear," he added. "I need someone to scratch my itches for me."

"Work, work, work," Zoe muttered, pushing off from the edge of the hatchway. A moment later Hank followed, then Kaylee, her bag of parts held tightly to her chest.

For a few seconds Mal stared up into the heights - or possibly depths - of the ship, then glanced back down at where the corpse lay hidden. He'd recognised the emblem all right. Difficult not to. He didn't know what Blue Sun were up to out here, nor what the purpose of this ship was, but maybe Kaylee _could_ figure it out. Hell, if anyone could, it would be her.

He stepped back to the opening and looked across at his ship hanging against the bright points of starlight. It looked like Hank had been right and he had disabled the net, at least from the way Serenity wasn't orbiting anymore.

_Are you coming? _he heard in his mind, and he smiled.

_On my way, xin gan_, he thought back, and pushed off from the side of the derelict.

Behind him a jagged line of light ran across one of the panels, sparkling like embers from a fire, then disappeared.


	5. Chapter 5

Blue Sun. Even as Mal stood talking to River on the Cortex link in his bunk, his mind kept playing that corpse wearing the uniform of a Blue Sun employee. Hand in hand with the Alliance, Blue Sun always seemed to have the money and the influence to do whatever it wanted. And now those _hwoon dahns_ had been experimenting with something out in the black. _His_ black. And it galled him somewhat.

Still, it wasn't something he could discuss over an open wave.

"Be just a day or so more," he said instead. "Then I can tell you all about our adventures."

"Are they that good?" River asked, smiling, even though he could read in her eyes that she was aware of his reticence.

"Well, let's just say they're … interesting."

"The kind of interesting we experience a lot?"

"That's the kind."

"Then I'll look forward to hearing about it."

"How's Jayne? Any better?"

River's smile faded. "Since the funeral he's been very subdued. He's spent a lot of time with Mr Gilford and Matty. Talking about his Ma."

"To be expected, _xiao nu_."

"I know. I just feel …" She stopped, biting her lip.

"Excluded?" he suggested gently.

"I know I shouldn't. Jayne is my husband. But -"

"It doesn't help."

"No."

"No need to feel guilty about it, albatross," Mal said. "Felt the same way myself when Ethan was born, then Jesse. Frey spent so much time with them, feeding and the like, I kinda felt left out, even though I knew she wasn't doing it deliberate. And she managed to find ways to bring me back in."

"Bath time?"

"And diaper changing." He had to grin. "Just glad Jesse's growing out of them now."

"Jayne's good at that," River said, her smile returning as she stroked her hand down her belly.

"So I've heard."

"I'll try not to do it with him. Leave Jayne out."

"Doubt he's gonna let you, little one." He leaned forward a little, as if imparting a confidence. "And tell the big guy that if he's good, there might be something for him from Achaeon."

River's eyes widened. "Not …"

"Can't be specific. Just mentioning it."

She laughed. "I'm sure he'll be more than …and make … best way …" Her voice broke up, as did the picture.

"River?"

She appeared briefly, bending forward, her arm outstretched. "I can't hear …" Then there was nothing but static.

Mal fiddled with the controls, but he couldn't bring her back. Sighing heavily he climbed the ladder and headed for the bridge.

"Hank, what the hell's wrong with the com?" he asked, climbing the steps two at a time.

The pilot turned in his seat. "Wrong?" He looked surprised.

"I was just talking to River and the link went down."

Hank scanned the panel in front of him. "Can't see anything … oh." He started checking the systems.

"Exactly."

"It was fine a little while ago," Hank insisted. "I was running through the Persephone Fed channels for any potential problems we might encounter, and it was okay then."

"It was okay up until three minutes ago when it died, right in the middle of a conversation." He watched Hank for a few moments. "Well?"

"I can't see anything wrong. Least, nothing I can put my finger on." He glanced up. "Maybe there's something up with a relay somewhere. I'll look into it."

"See that you do. Not that I like talking to people, but it could make life a little too exciting when we're coming to land." Something crawled up his spine, and he shivered a little, and the image of the dead body, bone showing whitely through the fractured skin, leapt into his mind again.

"You okay, Mal?" Hank asked.

"Shiny."

"Only you look kinda off."

"That ship. Still got a bit of the hair raising on the back of my neck, if truth be told."

"I know what you mean. Creepy."

"Another reason I don't like having communications problems."

Hank nodded. "On it, Mal."

---

Freya was sitting at the dining table with Kaylee, studying the schematics Hank had managed to download from the derelict before they got away half a day before.

"Mal won't like it if you're sitting and his ship blows up," Simon said, stepping down into the galley, grinning widely. "I imagine he'll have some choice words to say."

"Serenity ain't gonna blow up," Kaylee said, smiling up at him. "I put the part in soon as we got back, and it's working fine."

"I'm sure Mal will be glad to hear it." He looked over her shoulder at the plans. "Don't tell me," he teased. "You've got it all figured out."

Freya was still staring at the diagrams. "Some. Not all."

Simon's eyes widened. "You're joking."

Freya released a long slow breath. "You know, I don't think I am."

"Honey, sit down. We'll show you," Kaylee said, pushing the chair out next to her.

Simon quickly did as he was told. "So, tell me."

"Frey, you wanna …" Kaylee asked.

"No. It was you figured it out."

"Your idea."

She looked into Kaylee's eyes, then pushed a film across to Simon. "What does that remind you of?" she asked.

He picked it up, his eyebrows raising as he studied the multi-coloured graphic. "Well, it almost looks like a … a brain."

"And these?" Two more followed.

"Linear transcriptions of brain scans," he said without hesitation.

"That's what I thought."

He flicked through them again. "What _are_ these? Since I take it that they're not actual scans."

Kaylee tapped her fingers lightly on the films. "The first is a connection diagram of the main bulk of that ship. The second, saved records of diagnostic runs."

Simon looked down sharply. "Are you saying –"

Freya interrupted. "When I was young, my father told us a story once at dinner about how one of the companies he dealt with was experimenting with artificial intelligence."

Simon looked from one woman to the other. "You mean robots? Computers?"

Kaylee shook her head. "No. We mean intelligence. Not just analysing and deducting, but thinking, creating … taking those leaps that only a human can do, coming up with things from scratch."

"Alex scoffed at it, of course," Freya went on. "Said it was pure science fiction. I remember him asking why anyone would need something like that, when there's more than enough people. I said something about how I was sure it was possible, and wondered what it would be used for. My father, of course, agreed with Alex. But there was something in the way he spoke …" Her eyes unfocused a moment, seeing her father at the dinner table quickly change the subject, his eyes hooded, thoughts hidden, then she brought herself back with a jerk. "Anyway, when I saw those, it all came back."

"And you think that's what the ship was," Simon attempted to clarify. "Some kind of attempt to build a consciousness."

"Could be." Kaylee shrugged expressively. "Got no proof, of course. We might be totally wrong, and it's just as likely to be an experimental propulsion system, but … it just seems …" She stopped, her brow furrowed.

"Too much like coincidence."

"And I'm not a fan of coincidence," Freya added.

"Thing is," Kaylee went on, "if we're right, and that ship was a brain, it's far bigger than it needs to be. And with a lot more power. Computers function like proto-brains, doing a lot of the day-to-day work in the background … I mean, without one in Serenity we wouldn't be flying at all. But they're small, tiny in comparison to the ship."

Simon nodded. "Like you said, though, they're proto-brains. Doing what they were programmed to do. Responding to a set of commands, a series of circumstances … but that's not really thinking. Not the kind of thinking we do, every day."

"Some of us more'n others," Mal said, stepping down into the galley.

"You were listening?" Freya asked, looking up at him.

"Some." He headed behind the counter. "We fixed, Kaylee?"

"Up and running, Cap," the young mechanic said brightly.

"Then maybe you'd like to go and help my erstwhile pilot to figure out how come we ain't got an external com system at the moment."

"Coms are down?" Kaylee sat up straighter.

"I believe I just said that."

"On my way," she said, and jumped to her feet, running out of the room.

"How much _did_ you hear?" Freya asked.

Mal smiled briefly. "Enough. Is that what your intuition is telling you? That it's a brain?"

"It was just an idea."

"Actually," Simon said slowly, "that's a thought."

Mal poured two coffees. "What is?"

"Intuition. A computer has never been able to come up with intuition. Nor any other form of psychic ability."

Pausing a moment, the mugs in his hand, Mal stared at him. "Are you suggesting they were building a psychic?" He continued to the table, putting one coffee down in front of his wife before sitting down next to her.

"Why not?" Simon spread his hands. "If we're talking the realms of extreme possibility here, that's one of them. Build a psychic brain, and you'd have total control over it."

"Is that possible?"

"Up until a few hours ago I would have said it was impossible to make a ship that was almost undetectable." He leaned forward, youthful eagerness in his voice and face. "Which could explain why it was built that way."

"Go on," Mal said, coffee forgotten.

"You'd need to make sure that outside radiation, whether it was light, communications or thought, didn't interfere with the mainline systems."

"Hang on … are you saying thought is a radiation?" Mal interrupted.

"It's just something Freya and I were discussing." He dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "But that's not the point."

"I'd take it as a kindness if you'd get to it sometime this century, doctor."

Simon raised one eyebrow at him but didn't rise to the bait. "If you wanted to reach out, you'd need to dampen down anything else that might interfere."

"I see. I think." Mal shook his head. "But what'd they use it for?"

Freya stirred. "Reading minds," she said. "Perhaps worse."

Mal looked at her. "Are you talking about a weapon?"

Simon jumped, remembering the time River had threatened Jayne that she could kill him with her brain, but luckily neither of the other two appeared to have noticed.

"I'm not sure what I'm talking about," Freya admitted, a rueful smile on her face. "Maybe we're reading a lot more into this than is the case."

"What about the logs?" Simon asked. "Don't they tell you what was going on?"

"Most of them are corrupt, datasets missing, and those that Hank's been able to open don't make much sense." Freya shrugged. "Even the date info's gone."

"So we're still no closer to figuring out when or why."

"Afraid not."

Mal picked up his mug and stared into the dark liquid. "You know, there's another problem with creating a brain, doc. Might end up with one that's psychotic."

"Psychotic? " Simon stared.

"There's hardly anyone sets out to breed a human psychopath, is there? But they turn up, and we've had more than our fair share of bearing witness to that." Mal took a mouthful of coffee. "The way I see it, you try and build a brain, build an intelligence to rival a man's, to have his abilities to adapt and learn, maybe to be psychic … your run the same risk. Then what do you do? Not like you can lock the ship up somewhere and medicate it. Lobotomise, maybe, but there's no guarantee that'd work. Your only option would be to destroy it."

"Do you think that's what happened here? They brought that ship out to get rid of it?"

"Maybe it fought back." Mal lifted his head and gazed at the young man, an odd look in his eye. "Survival, Simon. There ain't much that's intelligent don't want to survive."

"But there's so much money invested. Wouldn't they simply try to salvage what they could first?"

"Maybe they tried." He leaned forward. "Something blew that hatch. Might have been the crew, might not. Maybe the ship decided it was in danger and decided to make the first strike."

Freya sat listening, feeling the chill building up inside her again.

"But you're making it sound almost human," Simon argued.

"If Frey's right, then that's what they wanted. And maybe they succeeded."

"Then why is it still here? Why is it dead?"

"Not dead," Freya put in. She held out the last flimsy she'd been staring at. "Not dead. Kaylee was right – there's enough power to take her from one side of the galaxy to the other, the way they've got her configured. No. I think it's a more fundamental problem."

Mal took the sheet, but the lines on it meant nothing to him so he handed it to Simon.

The doctor's face tightened. "A stroke?"

"Or whatever the equivalent is for a machine." She took a deep breath. "Kaylee picked it up. There's connections gone. Links between systems, just like in a human brain when a stroke knocks out maybe the speech area, or motor control to a particular limb … It's just sitting there, metaphorically staring at the daisies, waiting for someone to wheel it in to supper."

"Then I'm more than a little glad we're away from there," Mal said, leaning back in his chair. "No way of knowing what might've happened if we'd stayed."

"Shouldn't we have let someone know? About the ship, I mean?" Simon glanced down at the schematics. "If this _is_ a danger to shipping, someone needs to be told."

"It's off the beaten track, Simon. And it's not like she easy to find." Mal could see the young man winding up to argue, and said quickly, "But you're right. Soon as Hank's got the com up again, we'll put in an anonymous call to the Alliance. They can come out and take a look, or just put up a quarantine beacon to warn other vessels."

"And if someone unsuspecting comes along in the meantime?"

"Not our affair, doctor."

"I'm not sure that's good enough."

"Good as it gets." Mal stood up. "Ain't it your turn to entertain us with your culinary skills?"

Simon got to his feet. "If you mean is it my turn to cook, yes it is."

"And what delights are on the menu tonight?"

"Caviar and lobster bisque," the young man said dryly.

"Really?"

"No."

Mal smiled. "Well, since you're better at it than most on board, I'll just say it'll probably be tasty, whatever it is."

"Thank you for that generous compliment. And since I assume you want to eat at the usual time, you'd better leave me to it so I can get on."

Freya smiled, relieved at the tension dissolving. "You sure you don't want a hand?" she asked.

"No, no, I'm fine."

"Come on," Mal said quickly, pulling her up. "The young doctor says he doesn't need any help, so I think we'd be best making ourselves scarce. 'Sides, it means we've got a little while to be alone."

She lifted her eyebrows at him. "Oh? And what were you planning on doing with that time?"

"I'm sure we can think of something."

"I should really go and help Kaylee. See if there's not something I can do about the com."

"Later," Mal urged.

"Just go," Simon implored. "This ship gets worse."

"Not sure that's possible, doc," Mal said, pushing Freya out into the corridor in front of him.

The lights dimmed for a microsecond then came back, unnoticed by any of the crew.


	6. Chapter 6

Hank couldn't sleep. It wasn't only that neither he nor Kaylee could figure out what was wrong with the com system, but also a feeling of something else being wrong. It wasn't even the meal they'd had.

"You sure you got time to eat?" Mal had asked, eyeing Hank as he wolfed down his meal. "I mean, wouldn't want you getting indigestion or anything."

Hank swallowed a huge mouthful. "Got a cast-iron stomach." He patted his belly.

"Right, dear," Zoe agreed deadpan. "Then it must be someone else who tosses and turns all night and sounds like an oncoming train. Which is all kinds of disturbing."

"Must be," Hank said, then belched.

Bethany and Ethan laughed, and Hope covered her own mouth with her hand. Ben looked at his father wide-eyed.

"See, that's just what he doesn't need to hear," Zoe complained.

"Funny Daddy!" Ben said, grinning.

"You're going to lead him into bad ways."

"With this crew? How could I possibly do that?"

"Difficult," Simon agreed, taking a third piece of bread out of Bethany's hands.

"Anyway," Mal said loudly. "Why all the haste?"

Hank shrugged. "I want to spend another hour going over the Cortex link again. I can't help feeling whatever's the problem is staring me right in the face, if only I were looking at it the right way."

"You want me to come with you?" Kaylee asked.

Hank shook his head. "No, no, sweetie. There's just a couple of things I wanna try, then I'll be turning in. I'll fix it, though, never you fret."

---

Only he hadn't. And nothing he did seemed to make a difference. He'd gone to bed with the problem going round and round his mind, and it was at about the fifth time he'd listed all the possible reasons for a failure and got lost halfway that he decided he'd had enough. Something else was nagging him, and he wasn't going to be able to sleep until he had at least identified what it was.

Zoe was out of it, her hair spread across the pillow, and she only stirred slightly when he slid out of bed and grabbed a pair of soft pants. She was too used to his occasional nocturnal wanderings to check the bridge to do more than roll into the warm patch recently vacated. She muttered a few words, but didn't wake up as he snagged a sweater and climbed the ladder.

Up in the pilot's seat he increased the lighting level a little, and began to run checks. Everything looked normal, except for the Cortex link. That was still off-line. Eventually, after nearly an hour's fruitless searching, he sat back in the chair and stared out at the stars.

There was no doubt about it. The nagging sensation at the back of his neck was still there. It didn't matter that he could find no evidence for it. In the bit of his brain that made him one of the best damn pilots around, he knew. The only problem was, without proof, he hadn't a chance in hell of convincing Mal he was more than just paranoid.

He picked up a deck of cards from the side of the console and absently began to shuffle them, a sigh dragging itself up from the root of his soul. He loved this boat, had for a long time, and even considered it his, maybe even more than the Captain's, and the thought that he couldn't figure out if there was a problem, let alone what it actually was, made him feel almost nauseous.

He stared out through the window, as if he could read the answer in the unchanging, unflinching stars, and idly began to count their brittle points of light. Suddenly he sat up, the cards in his fingers flying everywhere.

"_Tzao gao,_" he grunted.

Reaching up to the internal com, he lifted down the handset and punched in a code. "Mal," he said softly. There was no response. "Mal." A little louder. Still nothing.

Swiftly he checked the systems. "Gorram it," he muttered, as he realised internals were down too. Hurrying off the bridge he stopped outside the captain's bunk. "Well, here goes nothing," he murmured to himself, and knocked on the panel. A mere two seconds later he pushed the hatch open. "Mal?"

There was a long moment, then the captain's voice came up the hatchway. "If my boat ain't on fire, and Reavers ain't about to latch onto us, you're gonna be looking for another job soon as we hit Persephone."

"Can I talk to you? Just for a minute."

Mal appeared at the bottom of the ladder, a sheet wrapped around his waist, and a look of menace on his features. "Talk? Hank, you got any idea what time it is?"

"I know. I just need to … it'll only take a minute, I promise."

"Mal?" Hank heard Freya's voice, filled with sleep.

"It's okay, _ai ren_," Mal assured her, dropping the sheet and picking up his pants. "You go back to dreaming. I'll deal with this and be joining you in a blink."

"You want me to get up?"

"No, honey. Go back to sleep."

"'Kay."

Mal reappeared at the ladder and began to climb up, his shirt open, his suspenders around his hips. "This had better be damn good," he ground out, joining Hank in the corridor.

"I think it is." The pilot led the way to the bridge.

"So? What is it?" Mal asked, tucking his shirt-tails in and pulling up his suspenders.

"We're off course." Hank's brows were one long line as he frowned.

Mal couldn't have looked much more surprised. "Off … how far?"

"I'm not sure." He sat down at his board.

"Why not?" Mal looked over Hank's shoulder at the screens. "This says we're fine."

"I know." He ran a few combinations.

"Then –"

"It feels wrong."

"More feelings." Mal couldn't take much more of this. "I know I'm gonna regret asking, but how come your feelings mean we're off course when Serenity says we're not?"

Hank felt a wave of embarrassment rise through him, but he knew he had to say. "The stars are wrong."

"What?"

"The stars are wrong."

Mal stared out of the window at the hard pinpoints of light. "How can you tell? They look just the same to me."

"I just do!" Hank snapped, jumping to his feet. "I've been a pilot all my life, Mal. You think I don't know my job?"

Mal crossed his arms. "I'm kinda wondering that my own self."

"You think I don't know when we're heading the wrong way?" He squared up to his captain.

"Not when my ship tells me we're fine."

"Well, your ship is wrong!"

"Prove it!"

"I'm the proof!" Hank poked himself in the chest. "You gotta trust _me_!"

There was a pause as Mal glared into the other man's grey eyes. Then he asked, "What are you planning to do about it? If it's the case."

Hank stared back. "I'd normally reset it through the Cortex, but since we ain't been able to figure out that either, I'm open to gorram suggestions."

Mal took a breath and a mental step back. "You think they're connected?" he asked, his tone a little more moderate.

Hank did likewise. "Be a hell of a coincidence if they weren't."

"Well, like Frey says, I don't go much on coincidences either." He nodded out towards the black. "So what _do_ we do?"

"I can try resetting by hand. I've already taken her off autopilot, but any course correction's gonna be pretty much guesswork." He sat back down, his fingers lovingly stroking the old console.

"Can you at least get us heading in about the right direction?"

Hank shook his head. "I've no idea when the drift started. Until we pass something we recognise, another planet or moon maybe, it'd be like tossing a handful of coins into the air and hoping they all come down heads."

A chill ran itself up Mal's spine. "What about your gut instinct? It's telling you we're off course. Can't it tell you when we're back on the right heading?"

"You trust me enough to try it? 'Cause even if we do get back to going in the right direction, if I'm more than a few degrees out, we could miss Persephone entirely. Never even see her."

"And if I don't trust you? What's the likelihood of us coming across someplace we know?"

Hank's normally light-hearted face was deadly serious. "You want an honest answer?"

The chill turned into frostbite. "Do it," Mal ordered. "The way I see it, we ain't got nothing to lose. Space is too big and too easy to get lost in, and I don't want us running out of fuel, being on the drift." He nodded once. "Do it, Hank," he repeated.

"Yes sir."

"Then get everyone in the dining area. We need to talk."

---

"So we don't know where we are," Simon said, trying to get it fixed in his mind.

"That's what I said." Mal stood at the head of the table, looking down at his crew. "Hank's put us on what he thinks is the right heading, but we're not gonna be sure until we can bring everything back up."

"I've tried everything I can think of, Cap'n," Kaylee said, her hands clasped tightly together on top of the old wood. "There ain't much else I can do."

"I know, _xiao mei-mei_," Mal assured her. "But you're the best mechanic floatin'. If you can't fix it, then none of us have a hope in hell of doing it."

Her shoulders lifted a little at that. "I can take another look. See if it ain't something that's common to both systems."

He smiled at her. "That's my girl."

Zoe looked across at Freya. "Can you pick up where Persephone is?" she asked. "Maybe through River?"

Freya shook her head. "It doesn't really work like that, at least not with me. I can't talk to River anyway at the moment. She's too far away. And I've never really tried finding a direction."

"Perhaps Bethie could help?" Simon suggested.

"Maybe when we're closer to Persephone," Freya considered. "We could try triangulating. But at the moment I doubt she could tell you any more than I can."

"Which is?" Mal prompted.

Freya pointed towards the bow of the ship. "That way."

"That's good," Hank said, stepping down into the galley. "'Cause that's the way we're going."

"You got the autopilot fixed?" Mal asked.

"No. Not really. Every time I switch it on, it starts to drift again. I've only come grab a coffee and to let you know we're on our way, then I'll have to go back and babysit. It's gonna be a long few hours."

"I'll make some fresh," Zoe offered. "Keep you supplied with it."

"That'd be good," her husband said, smiling at her.

Then the lights went down, and the sound of the engine stopped.

Everyone stayed stock still for a moment, then Kaylee gasped, starting as she felt a hand slip into her own, before realising it was Simon's.

"Where's the back up?" Mal asked, trying to see in the pitch black.

"Should have come on by now," Hank said.

"If it's down, what about the life support?" Simon wanted to know.

"Can't tell," Kaylee admitted. "Not 'til I can get to the engine room."

"You stay put," Mal ordered. "Ain't having you falling into something and hurting yourself."

"I think I can get to the bridge, Mal," Hank put in quickly, trying to stop the jackhammering of his heart. His claustrophobia was back, full force. "I can see … something."

Mal turned, and realised his pilot was right. A patch of lighter black was behind him, filtering down from the bridge windows. "Good. Good." He licked suddenly dry lips. "But first things first. We need -"

"Torches?" As Freya spoke a beam clicked on, illuminating the men and women around the table. She stood behind the counter, a torch in her hand.

"How did you …" Mal stared at her.

"I knew it was here. Kaylee was fixing the stove, and I put it in the cupboard."

"Well … that's good." He peered at her, not able to pick out any features, just her overall shape behind the light. "How did you get over there?"

"I know this ship, Mal. Too many sleepless nights." It sounded like she was grinning.

"You been spending too long with River," Hank muttered. "Wandering around like a gorram spirit."

"Hank, that's my wife you're talking about," Mal pointed out.

"And believe me, I'm glad she can," Hank added quickly.

"We need to get to the rest of the stuff, then Kaylee needs to take a look at the engine room, and life support."

"If it is down, we got a few hours yet," the young woman said. "Ain't like a fire's eaten up the oxygen."

He knew what she was referring to. "Frey'll help you. Hank, you get to the bridge and try and figure out what the hell's happening. Zoe'll stick with you."

"'Kay, Mal."

"Simon, you'd -"

"I'm going to check on the children. This is probably pretty scary for them." He stood up, his chair squealing as he pushed it back.

"Good idea," Mal said quickly, guilt flashing through him at the realisation he hadn't thought about the younger members of Serenity's crew.

"They're okay, Mal," Freya said softly. "I put them all in with Bethie before this started, and she's telling them stories."

"In the dark?"

"She's a resourceful young lady."

Simon smiled. "She's my daughter," he said. "Of course she is." He walked to the door, almost stumbling up the steps.

"You fall and break something, sing out," Mal advised, eager to get his authority back somewhat. "Someone'll be along to clean up."

"I'm so happy to hear that," the doctor said, disappearing into the darkness.


	7. Chapter 7

While Freya went to get the other torches out of the supply locker, Hank felt his way along the corridor to the bridge. "You know," he said conversationally, trying to drown out the panic roaring in his ears, "this is one of the times I'm glad Jayne ain't on board. Big lunk like him, I'd probably be falling over him."

"I doubt that," Zoe said behind him, barely able to see him moving against the dull glow from the stars. "He can be pretty light on his feet when he wants to be."

"Yeah, but I'm not. Gorram it." He leaned down to rub at his shin where he'd just whacked it on the bottom step. "Why can't this place all be on one level?" he complained. "Steps, stairs, ladders … I get more exercise just going for a coffee than is needful."

"You know it's there," his wife pointed out.

"Hey, I'm just generally moaning here," Hank said, turning to look at her but only getting an impression of her eyes, smiling gently at him. "I hate to admit it, seeing as I'm a strong, silent kind of guy, but I'm more than a little scared." He jumped as he felt her hand on his chest.

"I'm here, honey. Not going anywhere. You need to hold onto that, not think about the dark." She knew, as she always did, that his claustrophobia was playing up, and she tried to emulate Freya by projecting calming thoughts.

"I'll be better when I can see the stars," he admitted, taking hold of her fingers and leading her up the steps.

"I can see what you mean," she said, staring out at the expanse of black, amazed at the light that was coming from so far distant. It gave the bridge an unworldly glow that seemed appropriately in keeping with their current circumstances.

Hank let the sight wash through him, and the tightness in his chest relaxed a little. Letting go of Zoe's hand he sat down, attempting to find anything alive in the system. Despite his best efforts, button after button remained unlit, and switches just clicked.

"_Ezri san zhi jiao mao lu_," he said under his breath, adding out loud, "This is ridiculous,"

"You could try the age old remedy of kicking something," Zoe suggested, squeezing his shoulder. "Kaylee swears by it sometimes."

"_At_ it, maybe. Heard her do it." He pursed his lips. "Still, if the mechanic gets away with it ..." He gave the housing under the console a hefty wallop with his boot.

The lights came on, bridge first, running through the ship in a wave, leaving darkness behind them again. Then again, like they were chasing something down the corridor.

"Okay, that was creepy," Hank muttered.

All at once the board lit up like a Christmas tree, and the Cortex flared into life, filling the bridge with the brain-wilting jingle of a Blue Sun commercial. With a wince and a growl, Hank turned the sound down, even as he took advantage of the link to try and update their position. It died under his fingers as he saw a sequence of numbers flash across the screen.

"I think I prefer it this way," Zoe said quietly.

"Hank?" Mal jumped up the steps, a torch in his hand. "Was that –"

"The Cortex. For about ten seconds."

"Did you manage to figure out where we are?"

"You mean did I reset the nav sat in the short time it was up? No. But I got a kind of fix on Persephone. I might be able to do some old-fashioned trig and make a better guess."

Mal nodded, relief warming him a little. "Then I think you've earned a reprieve."

"A reprieve, sir?" Zoe asked, one eyebrow raised.

Anything Mal might have responded was cut short by a sudden grinding noise, and they all turned to look down the corridor towards the engine room. A beam of light was playing across the internal workings, and a moment later they heard a whoop of joy as the heart of the Firefly began to revolve, a warm orange glow moving through the ship towards them.

"I'd say we had power," Mal commented.

"Thank God," Zoe breathed.

"Seconded," Hank added fervently, turning back to his board. "And I got life!"

Mal leaned on the back of the chair. "How much?"

"Some. External sensors are up, so we won't be likely to crash into anything. Looks like internal coms are back too –"

"Cortex?"

Hank checked, then shook his head. "Nope. Still off-line."

"And I can see we still ain't got no lights."

"It's not perfect," Hank agreed. "But we've got steering. And, even more importantly, stopping capabilities."

"Are they gonna stay up?" Mal asked, scanning the console himself. "Hate to be coming into Eavesdown and finding we've got no thrusters."

"That I can't promise." Something flashed and went out. "Shit!"

"What was that?"

"Spoke too soon about the com."

Mal was beginning to get more than a little exasperated. "Is there anything you _can_ do?" When Hank didn't say anything, just stared at the screens, Mal added, "Well?"

"Yeah." Hank looked up, his face pale in the torchlight. "Get the kids off."

"What?"

"Life support just went down. Just a flash, and it's back up now, but it was main _and_ auxiliary. And if it's gone once …" He didn't finish.

He didn't have to. Mal felt the ice that had been forming in his innards grow another layer. Ethan and Jesse, let alone the other children … they had to be kept safe. He looked into Zoe's eyes, seeing the same emotions reflected there, then turned back to his pilot. "The shuttle?"

"For the best." Hank ran his hands through his hair. "Far as I can see, they're not affected, least as yet. Get the kids into one and take off. Then at least we know they're okay."

Mal hitched his pants a little higher. "I conjure you're right. Frey can –"

"Rather she stayed." It said much that Hank was interrupting him. "She's pretty good at some of this, and we could really use her help. Zoe can go."

For a moment Mal treacherously wondered if the pilot just wanted his wife out of harm's way, then guiltily questioned whether he'd done the same, suggesting Freya in the first place. Not that it mattered.

"I'm not going." Zoe crossed her arms, defiance in every muscle.

"You have to," Hank said. "Simon can't fly the shuttle, and there's no-one else."

"I'm not leaving."

"Honey –"

"You say one more word on this and I'll …"

"What?" Hank stood up, turning to face her. "You'll what, baby? I want Ben safe. Somewhere he ain't gonna be in danger. Him and the other children."

They glared at each other, then Kaylee's voice echoed along the corridor. "Can someone come and hold this for me?" she asked.

"Coming," Zoe called, heading off the bridge.

Mal watched her in the dim light, her back straight and set, and he could almost see the determination bleeding off of her. "Right," he muttered, then turned back to Hank. "You want Frey up here?"

"Yeah. She can run back-up for me, and … yeah, that'd be good."

"I'll get her."

"And would you mind telling my wife she's getting off?"

Mal's lips twitched. "You planning on living beyond today?"

Hank laughed dryly. "Seriously hoping to, Mal."

---

"I don't understand," Simon said, watching Kaylee quickly push some clothes into a bag in the emergency lamplight.

"We don't know how long they'll be," she explained, adding a couple of Bethie's toys as well.

"No, I didn't mean that." He stepped up next to her, handing her two books. "The shuttle … that has a Cortex link, doesn't it? Why can't we use that to figure out our heading? Or just call for help."

Kaylee zipped the bag up. "Shuttles are short-range, and most of their systems are designed to work that way. No need for much else. Yeah, they've got Cortex, but it piggybacks off Serenity's main signal, and since that's down …"

"I see." He picked up the tatty green rabbit Mal had won for his daughter. "Have you tried?"

Kaylee rubbed at her eyes, acutely aware she hadn't slept more than a couple of hours in the last twenty. "Afraid to, Simon, if I'm honest. Scared it might be catching, and then the kids'd be …" She stopped, realising her cheeks were wet.

"_Bao bei_ …" Simon sat down next to her, pulling her close. "I'm sorry. Of course you know what you're doing. I shouldn't be second guessing."

"No, you shouldn't," she agreed, leaning into him nevertheless. "And I want you to go with them."

"What?" He looked down into her eyes. "No, Kaylee. That's not going to happen."

"You can't do much here. Frey's staying 'cause she might be some use, but knowing about medicines and such ain't gonna help right now. And I gotta know you're safe."

He pushed her away so he could see her properly. "And I'm not leaving you. You think I could sit out there, watching this ship, knowing you were … no, Kaylee."

"Simon –"

"There's no discussion." He dragged her back into his embrace again. "Besides, there's another shuttle. If it comes down to it, I'm sure Mal will order us all off Serenity."

"Like he did before?" Kaylee made a noise that could only be described as a _harrumph_. "Didn't leave then, he won't again. Not his ship."

"Even for Freya?"

She paused, considering, and revised her opinion a little. "Well, maybe."

"And she's not going, and I'm pretty sure Zoe was arguing with Mal when he told her she had to. So don't ask me again."

"You putting your foot down?" she asked, looking up into his face.

"I am."

"Just 'cause you think I'm gonna let you get away with it."

"It's my turn." He stood up. "Have you got everything?"

"Think so." She wiped her cheeks. "Even got me an argumentative husband."

"I think there's a lot of those around." Simon smiled a little. "Serenity's women seem to attract them."

---

Freya picked up the box of food and turned to leave the galley, but her footsteps paused. Mal was in front of her, Jesse on his hip, Ethan held by the hand.

"Just gonna put them in the shuttle," he said softly. "Thought you might wanna say something."

She swallowed hard, but the lump in her throat refused to move. Putting the box on the table, she crossed the dining area and lifted Ethan into her arms. "You …" She coughed, but it didn't help. "You gonna be good for Auntie Zoe?" she asked, looking into his blue eyes.

He put his little hand on her face. "Always good," he said quietly. "Don't be scared," he added, whispering now.

"Only for you," Freya said, pulling him close to her. His little arms tightened around her neck.

Mal stood silent, watching the love between a mother and her son, and for the tiniest moment felt excluded. Then her love for him, different but so powerful it could make continents live again, warmed his mind.

_Zhang fu_, she said, and she looked at him.

_Ai ren._ He nodded.

"Come on," she said to Ethan, kissing his cheek. "Time to go."

"'Kay, Mama." He touched her face. "We going to talk?"

"Well, the coms are down, so –"

"Not that kind of talk." He laid a finger on her temple. "Talk."

She half-smiled. "That we can."

He nodded. "Good."

"Come on," Mal said quietly, his own voice in danger of cracking. "Let's get you both into the shuttle."

---

"Momma, I don't want to," Bethie said, her face beginning to screw up.

"You have to, baby." Kaylee gathered her daughter into her arms as they stood in the common area. "It's just to be on the safe side. Don't want the lights going out and you falling down the stairs, do we? Daddy'd have to put another cast on your arm."

"But –"

"You have to."

"Want to stay with you. Help you fix Serenity."

Kaylee looked into her daughter's brown eyes. "Do you know what's wrong with her? Can you feel it?"

Bethie shook her head, two fat tears rolling down her cheeks. "No. Just feels sick. Like it's Serenity but it isn't."

"Sweetie, I need you to be safe. And Auntie Zoe's gonna make sure of that. It's not like you're gonna be far. You'll be able to look out of the window and see us."

"Then why do I have to go?"

"For me. You gotta go for me, baby. So I know."

"Not a baby." She sniffed hard and wiped her nose on the back of her sleeve.

"No. No, I know you're not. Which is why I know you're gonna be able to take care of the other children for me. For Auntie Frey." Kaylee could see Bethie take this on board, and was relieved when she nodded.

"'Kay." She sniffed again. "Still scared."

Kaylee managed a smile. "Then I know what'll help." She ran to her room, and was back in a moment. "Here," she said, holding something out.

Bethie stared at the metal object in her mother's palm. "What is it?"

"It's called a Jefferson bolt. Came out of a ship, bigger'n Serenity. And it's good luck."

"No such thing. Uncle Mal says luck is something you shouldn't rely on."

"And Uncle Mal's right. He don't rely on it. But it don't hurt to have something to fall back on."

Bethany put her head on one side. "Looks like a flower."

"That it does."

"Pretty."

"You keep it."

"Not mine."

"Then you keep it for me, _dong mah_?"

"For always?"

Kaylee had to grin. "You be good, and I'll hang it up in your room when you get back. How's that?"

"Shiny."

Kaylee held out her hand. "Come on then."

---

"Come on, Ethan," Zoe said, Ben on one hip, Jesse on the other. "Help me get everyone strapped in."

"'Kay, Auntie Zoe." He looked at Mal. "Bye, Daddy."

"Won't be long," Mal said, blinking hard a couple of times. "You be good."

"Always good," the little boy said seriously. "It's Bethie who ain't."

"Am too," Bethie insisted, stepping into the cargo bay, Kaylee and Simon right behind.

"Are not."

"Am too." She ran up the stairs grabbed his hand. "And I'm older'n you, so what I say goes." She almost dragged him along the top catwalk.

"Well, I can see who wears the pants in that relationship," Zoe said quietly, following them up into the shuttle. "See you soon, sir."

Mal nodded, trying hard to push away the notion that he never would again.

The shuttle door slid to, and a minute later there was the sound of the shuttle base extending, and then a slight shudder as the locks disengaged.

"They've gone," Kaylee said, sniffing hard.

Simon wrapped his arms around his wife. "They'll be fine."

"Sure they will." She let him hold her for a moment, then she pulled away. "Got to get back. See what I can do to bring 'em home again." She ran up the stairs and through the doorway, the torchlight bobbing in her hand.

"I'll be in the infirmary," Simon said, watching her go. "If anyone needs me."

"Just keep lots of stuff on hand, doc," Mal warned. "Situation like this, people're liable to fall, or hurry too much and cut themselves."

"I'll bear it in mind." He walked slowly down into the common area.

"You okay?" Mal asked Freya, sliding his arm around her waist. "Won't be long, you know. 'Til they're back."

"I know." She still stared at the door.

"Frey?"

"Gotta go," she said suddenly. "Help Hank." She barely looked at him as she hurried away.

He was left standing alone in the cargo bay, the light of the torch barely making a dent in the darkness, and he felt the age old fears of man creeping up on him. With an effort, he shook himself. "Nope. Not gonna happen. We'll figure it out," he said aloud. "We _will_ figure it out."


	8. Chapter 8

Mal felt useless, something he wasn't accustomed to. Kaylee was in the engine room, trying to get different systems back on line, and attempting to stop those that were from going down, while Hank was up on the bridge, doing pretty much the same. Freya seemed to be moving between the two, offering help where she could, while Simon had decided to put himself in charge of keeping everyone supplied with coffee and sandwiches, although he'd wandered off some time back.

Which left Mal with virtually nothing to do apart from sit in the dining area and think. Hearing the soft murmur of conversation on the bridge, he found himself wishing Wash was here, that maybe he could fix it. He'd always had an affinity for Serenity, from the first moment he'd stepped on board. Sure, Zoe had made her dislike for him known immediately, although that had changed slowly, but Wash had made himself at home.

Mal remembered a case in point, not long after he'd taken the pilot on. He could see it, clear as the day the memory was formed. Wash, sitting on the floor of the bridge on a wheeled tray, the bright sunlight of Phoros filtering through the windows, surrounded by what appeared to be the entire working parts of the pilot's console.

"What the _tyen shiao duh_ are you doing to my ship?" Mal had asked, his hands on his hips.

"Just an idea that came to me," Wash said, a smile lighting his face under his moustache before he looked back at the mess of wires in his lap.

"An idea." Mal crossed his arms. "It may have escaped your notice, but this is my boat. Any ideas you have, you come to me first. 'Specially if they involve taking her apart."

"It's not as bad as it looks." With another grin Wash scooted under the console, reaching up into its innards. Although he just as quickly found himself back out and staring up at Mal's somewhat angry face.

"Well?"

"Well … what?"

"What _are_ you doing?"

"I told you. An idea. I was bored, and I thought –"

"Bored?"

"We've been down a while. And Zoe's not talking to me and Bester says there's things to do …" His voice died away. "Um … sorry?" he offered.

Mal glared at him. "So would you like to enlighten me on what you decided was a good enough idea to bypass the chain of command?"

Wash sat up. "Last but one ship I was on had a problem with a virus. Some _fong luh shagua_ thought it was funny to infect a port landing sequencer. Almost took us down, and it was only my own amazing skills that saved us from ending up a smear on the landscape. So I was thinking that perhaps …" He talked on for a minute, then his voice trailed away. "So … can I carry on?"

For a long moment Mal stared in thought. "How long?"

"What?"

"To put all this back the way it was."

Wash looked around himself. "An hour? Two?"

"And how much extra to put in your idea?"

The pilot began to grin. "Another hour."

"Do it."

"Yes sir!" He laid back down and scooted under the console again.

"And what was that about Bester?"

"He said there's gonna be another delay …"

Mal had stalked off the bridge, his boots ringing on the decking, heading for the aft section of his boat. Still, if Wash hadn't taken it into his head to be helpful, he wouldn't have his current mechanic, who was swearing right now at something that didn't want to be fixed.

Not that all this reminiscing helped, since it just seemed to bleed back into what had happened in the past eighteen hours, and what he could have done to prevent it.

"Couldn't have," Freya said on her way through from the bridge back to the engine room. She paused behind him, leaning down and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Could have listened to you. Permaybehaps we wouldn't be in this situation if I'd been sensible." He put his hands on hers, holding them close to his chest, letting her warmth comfort him.

"You were going to be. It's not your fault that ship had a tractor net."

"No. Guess not."

"So stop beating yourself up over it."

He turned his head enough so that he could see her, looking into her hazel eyes, at least what he could see of them in the dim light of the emergency lanterns. "Can if I want."

She laughed. "That's my Mal. A sucker for guilt."

"Always have been," Mal admitted. "I think it's hard-wired into my genes."

"Painful." She kissed his cheek, her lips lingering. "When this is all over, I promise to do a bit of engineering on you, okay?"

"Gonna hold you to that." He squeezed her hands again, then she was gone.

He sighed. This really wasn't getting him anywhere. Getting to his feet, he grabbed two mugs, poured what looked like liquid tar into each of them, and headed for the bridge. "Here," he said, handing one over to his pilot.

"Mal, I love you."

"Better not let Zoe hear you say that. Even if it is true."

"No, honestly, I'm grateful," Hank said, smiling tiredly.

"Hold the praise 'til you taste it. I'm not sure Simon's got his mind on making coffee at the moment."

"It's hot and it's strong. That's all I need."

"And it's about all you're gonna get." He watched Hank take a mouthful, grimace, then swallow back. "So, you getting anything?"

"Couple of blisters from live wires, but not much else."

"You figured where we'd be heading if you hadn't worked out we were off track?" Mal asked, sipping his own mug and wishing he hadn't bothered.

Hank sat back in the chair, his hair even wilder than usual. "I considered it."

"And?"

"Far as I can tell, it'd be back to that derelict."

Somehow Mal couldn't get the energy up to be surprised. "Hell of a coincidence," he said quietly.

"Thought you didn't believe in those?"

"I don't."

"You don't sound shocked either."

"Not particularly."

"Neither am I," Simon said, coming up the steps behind them.

"You got something to add to this discussion?" Mal asked, half turning.

"I might."

"Then I'm interested."

"The infirmary's modular. When Serenity was built she didn't have that unit. It was put in later. You do know that, don't you?" He was speaking slowly, clearly.

Mal resisted the urge to punch, and merely sighed a little. "Doc, you carry on that way and you'll be needing the infirmary sooner than you think. I'll let you know if you say something I don't understand."

"Sorry," Simon apologised. "I'm … scared."

"Me too," Mal admitted, surprising the young man. "And you'd better close your mouth. Only a fool says he's ain't frightened, and my Momma never raised a fool." He shrugged. "Well, not all the time."

"I didn't … I'm sorry. You just look so in control of yourself." Simon exchanged a glance with Hank, who looked equally taken aback.

"Not the same thing." He half-smiled. "Six years of war and I was scared shitless all of the time, but you can't let everyone see it. Doesn't make them think they can live through it. And you need to make them believe that with every bone in their body. So no, I ain't in control. Just cover it better'n most." He shook his head. "So what about the infirmary being modular?"

Simon couldn't speak for a moment, realising the captain had just opened up more to them both in those few dozen words than he had in years. He pulled himself together. "Some of the systems, like the lights, the Cortex connection, they're all linked into Serenity. Just like the shuttle com."

"Yeah, you're right about that. So?"

"Some aren't."

Mal took a breath. The urge to punch was growing again. "Do you think you could maybe get to the point?"

"I've been looking at things, the readouts Kaylee's getting, Hank's results … and putting them through the diagnostic computer in the infirmary. That's a discrete system, no connection with the others. Not much else works in there, but at least –"

"And?" Mal's short temper was nearing the end of its tether. "Simon –"

"It's a virus. But not just any virus. And not strictly a computer virus, although that's what it's manifesting as at the moment."

"A virus."

"If I had to guess, we picked it up when we downloaded the logs from that derelict."

"Our firewall should have blocked that," Hank put in quickly.

Simon shook his head. "This is too organic. It's as if it's changing even as we watch. Growing. Evolving."

"Bethie said it was like Serenity wasn't herself," Mal said to himself.

"I can imagine that's what it must feel like. She's been invaded, and now she's having to act as a host to something else."

Mal's mind flickered to the memory of Wash, just a few minutes before. "Can we purge the system? If we had something that would do it?"

Hank glanced down at the board. "Maybe. But if we can't find it …"

"Get Kaylee and Freya into the kitchen," Mal said to Simon. "I think we all need to talk."

The young man nodded and ran off.

"Mal, if Simon's right, then we're in big trouble," Hank said slowly.

"You mean more than we are now?"

"Yeah." He licked his lips. "Kaylee's trying to run a diagnostic, but even that system keeps throwing her out, so she's doing it by hand. Freya's helping her. But nothing yet." He shook his head, his face tight. "Mal, this virus of Simon's … it'd explain why it's not just one redundancy, but there's cross-infection through the range of –"

"Hank. Single syllables, if you can." It had to be bad if his pilot was falling into technical-speak.

"There's a hell of a lot of systems this could affect, not just the lights and life support. Fuel cells, locks … hell, could even open the doors and flush all the oxygen."

"And you can't stop it?"

"No."

"Not exactly the syllable I was looking for." Mal looked down at the controls as if he could magically read what the problem was just by staring.

Hank nodded out into the black, towards the shuttle keeping pace with them. "Glad they ain't here," he said softly.

"Me too, Hank. Me too."

---

Mal went over what he could recall of Wash's plan.

"I remember, Cap," Kaylee said, nodding slowly. "But if you want an honest opinion –"

"I do, Kaylee. Always do from you," Mal added.

"Then I say no. At least, not yet. From what I remember Wash telling me, we have to shut everything down, even the systems we still got running at the moment. Including life support, main _and_ auxiliary." She saw Hank glance at Mal. "Oh, I know they're on the fritz. And I've been doing my gorram best to keep 'em going, to keep 'em up, but … we take it all offline, there's no guarantee I can get it back at all."

"So it's a last resort."

"'Fraid so, Cap."

"Hank? Comments?"

Hank shrugged. "No way of knowing. I didn't even know it was there, so …" He thought for a moment. "But I agree with Kaylee. Last resort. If it doesn't work …" He stopped. "Wish I could tell 'em to move back," he said, his voice curiously flat.

Mal didn't have to ask who he meant. "Why?"

"Because if there's an explosion the shuttle might get caught in it if they're too close."

Mal stared at his pilot as an image of Serenity ripping apart, her innards tossed into a fire-bloomed vacuum, held him for a moment, before he pushed it savagely away, glancing at Freya, her pale face mirroring his own. "You know, I think we _have_ got a way to move 'em further off."

---

Ethan undid the straps holding him into his seat.

"What are you doing?" Bethie asked. "You're not supposed to do that."

"Have to," he said, getting up carefully and walking towards the small bridge. "Auntie Zoe?" he said, standing by the pilot's chair.

The dark woman turned to look at him. "What is it, honey? And you should be strapped in."

"Mama says you need to pull back."

Zoe couldn't have looked more surprised. "Pull … how do you know, sweetheart?"

The little boy tapped his forehead. "In here. Telling me to tell you. She says to pull back to twice the distance."

"You can hear your Momma?"

"Talking."

Zoe looked at him for a minute, his blue eyes, his dark hair, the image of his father at that age, from Freya's description. Yet what was inside was so much of his mother, sometimes it was pretty scary. "Pull back, huh?"

"Yes."

"She say why?"

He shook his head, hugging his stuffed alligator to his chest. "Just to do it."

"And it's an order?"

He smiled. "Think so."

"Then in that case …"

---

Freya nodded, sitting at the table, opening her eyes. "They're moving."

Hank let out a long-held breath. "Thanks, Frey."

"No problem." Freya felt Mal's hand on her shoulder, and she leaned into him a little.

"Easy?" he murmured.

"No." She sounded surprised. _Probably just not used to it yet,_ she added mentally.

_Don't worry_. He squeezed gently. _I'm figuring before he's grown he's gonna get real pissed off at you dropping your little comments in there._ He cringed as she thumped him in his mind.

Hank shook his head, knowing there was an entire conversation going on he wasn't privy to, and clapped his hands together. "Right," he said, looking at Kaylee. "You wanna help me with my suit?"

"What?" Mal looked up. "You going to abandon ship?"

"No. Just go and take a look at the coms array. See if I can't attach a power pack directly, take out the middle man. I might even be able to send a distress beacon if I can work it right."

"You think you could?"

"Only one way to find out."

"I thought you weren't the going out on the jobs sort of guy," Freya teased.

"Want my wife and kid back on board," he said seriously.

"Know the feeling," she agreed.

"And you waited until Zoe was out of the way to decide this," Mal said, able to envisage pretty well the argument that would have ensued.

"Well, let's just say I was only considering it before."

Mal nodded. "Kaylee, help him."

---

It didn't look any different, Hank decided, staring up at the stars. Just as scary as last time, although the fear didn't feel quite as sharp. Probably because he had other things to worry about right now. Closing the hatch behind him, he pushed himself gingerly to a standing position, his boots gripping well.

"Okay, Hank," he said to himself. "This was your idea. Better get on with it."

Glad the shuttle was probably too far away for Zoe to see him doing something quite so stupid, he began to sidle gingerly towards the array.

---

"What the hell is that?" Zoe muttered, seeing movement on Serenity's hull. "Oh, you _ben tian sheng de fei fei de pi yan_," she swore through gritted teeth, recognising the gait if not the intention.

"Auntie Zoe?" Bethie called. "What's Uncle Hank doing?"

---

"How's he going?" Mal asked, leaning on the back of the pilot's chair.

Freya shrugged. "He's none too happy, but he's reached the array."

"Think he can do it?"

"He's almost as good as Wash."

He glared at her. "Stay outta my mind, witch," he growled.

"No."

"One of these days –"

The Firefly shuddered, and in the galley a plate skittered to the floor and broke.

"What just happened?" Mal asked, still feeling the vibrations rumble through Serenity.

"I don't know." Freya was trying combinations on the console, but getting nothing.

"It sounded like ..." He stopped. "God."

"What?" she asked, turning to him. "Mal, what?"

"Lock down," he said tightly. "Serenity's locked herself down."

"You mean –"

"All airlocks, escape hatches … everything."

Freya looked at him, her eyes wide. "Hank," she murmured.


	9. Chapter 9

"Okay, that was scary," Hank said out loud as the shuddering died away beneath his feet.

Looking around anxiously, he was at least glad to see Serenity didn't appear to be damaged in any way. "Not that I could do anything about it anyway," he said out loud. "It's not like I could run after anything might have fallen off." He realised he was talking to himself, and laughed shortly.

"Great," he added, shaking his head inside his suit. "Always knew I was crazy. Just goes to prove it." Still, that juddering had unnerved him somewhat. "Much more of that and I'll be needing to change my underwear when I get back," he quipped. "And here I am, being all humorous, and no-one around to be impressed."

Sighing heavily and fogging his faceplate for a moment, he continued on towards the array, trying hard not to think of all the things that could have caused his ship to judder like that.

---

Zoe watched as the tiny figure moved up the curve of the Firefly's neck to the top. It paused, and appeared to crouch down.

"You be careful," she murmured, too low for the children in the back of the shuttle to hear. "Just got you broken in. Don't want to have to find someone new right now." She absently toyed with the band on her finger.

Behind her Bethie and Ethan were staring at each other, but the little girl put her finger to her lips. Better Auntie Zoe didn't know. No point in worrying her.

---

"I can't do anything," Kaylee admitted, wiping her greasy hands for the thousandth time on the piece of rag stuffed into her pocket. "Got no more control over that than over the lights."

"Can't you just cut it?" Freya asked. "Actually pull the circuits?"

"Wouldn't help. This ain't just a code been activated to stop you telling the doors to open. This is physical locks in place. Removing the circuit boards ain't gonna make them undo." She looked tense, unhappy. "Pretty much our only hope is that it'll reset itself, like some of the other systems've done."

"Not _our_ hope I'm worried about, _mei-mei_," Mal said darkly. He looked at Freya. "Hank?"

"He doesn't know," she said. "At least, I don't think so. At the moment all I can pick up is his determination to see if he can fix things."

"Can he?"

"He's trying."

---

Hank attached the power pack into the coms array, muttering to himself all the time. "Clip in the auxiliary … easier if I weren't wearing gloves but I'm kinda attached to my fingers … adjust the modulator … remove the breaker and …" He sat back a little and grinned. "Voila."

Removing a small screen from the pocket on his leg, he plugged it in. "Here goes nothing," he said to no-one in particular, and switched it on. It glowed, then sprang to life, the logon flashing. "Yes!" As fast as he could, he began to type in his request on the tiny keyboard, his hands feeling unwieldy inside the gloves. "That's it, baby," he murmured. "You just keep … oh, no, no, no!" The screen data began to fluctuate, twisting and tying itself in knots until it flared briefly and died. "Oh, _cao_."

He sat back on his heels and looked over at the shuttle keeping pace with them, seeming to hang against the stars.

"Sorry, sweetheart," he said. "Looks like I won't be talking to you any time soon."

---

"Shit."

"Sorry, Mal," Freya said, watching him pacing the galley. "If it helps, Hank feels as disgusted with himself."

Mal banged his fist into the counter. "It doesn't."

---

"Okay. No point in sitting here feeling sorry for myself." Hank pushed himself to his feet, careful not to lose contact with the surface of the ship. "Better be getting back inside."

Not that he felt like rushing anywhere. He'd just about run out of ideas, and right now his brain was rebelling, alternating between wishing he could think of something else, and just wanting to get home. Glancing down at the air read-out, he started back towards the hatch, surprised to find he'd been longer than he thought. Still, plenty of time left.

---

"Now what?" Simon asked, sitting at the table and holding his wife's hand.

"I don't know," Mal admitted, his voice bleak. "I just don't know."

Kaylee stood up. "I'll go back. See if I can divert power to the hatches. Maybe just the one."

"I'll help," Simon offered.

She smiled at him, knowing he just needed to have something to do, to feel useful in some way, even if she didn't herself. "Okay."

Mal watched them go, then looked at Freya. "She won't be able to."

"No."

"He's got about forty, forty-five minutes of air left."

"Yes."

"I've not felt so helpless in a long time, Frey."

"We'll think of something."

"Wish I had your faith in me, _xin gan_. I really do."

---

Hank reached the access hatch and punched in the code. Nothing happened. He tried again. Still nothing, not even the vibration of the locks disengaging. He tried the handle, attempting to turn the wheel. It went through less than forty-five degrees and stopped. Turning it back, he put more effort into it this time, letting the weight work for him. It halted at the same place.

He swallowed, licking lips that suddenly really needed water. "Okay. No need to panic. It's just a glitch. That's all. Just take it easy and try it again."

A third attempt, and a fourth, and every time it hit something and refused to go any further.

His heart was pounding hard, and he was breathing fast. Too fast. Using up too much air. He concentrated on calming down, and closed his eyes.

He envisaged Zoe standing in front of him, her feet planted securely on the hull, Ben on her hip, looking at him. She was saying something, but in the vacuum of space he couldn't hear what it was. He knew, though. She was telling him not to panic, to take it easy, and just to hold on. She was probably adding something to the extent that the Captain would fix this, and that he was a wimp to take fright this easily. Silently he agreed with her. That's what he was. A wimp. Always had been, always would be. At least that was what she'd fallen in love with. He'd never pretended to be anything else.

He opened his eyes, looking back up to the shuttle. "Holding on here, dear. Holding on."

---

"Bethie."

"Yes, Auntie Zoe?"

"What's going on?"

"Auntie Zoe?"

"You know what I mean."

"I don't -"

"Why Isn't Uncle Hank going inside?"

The little girl gazed unhappily at Ethan. "Auntie Zoe -"

"He's back at the hatch but he hasn't gone in. You got any idea why that is?"

Ethan shrugged, making it Bethie's decision.

"It's … it's … he can't, Auntie Zoe," she finally said, misery dripping from her words. "The door's locked."

Zoe stared out at the Firefly. "Lock down," she murmured, her face paling. "_Tah muh duh_."

---

Freya took a deep breath. "Mal."

"What is it?" He sounded sharper than he'd intended. "I'm trying to come up with a plan here." He carried on pacing, having to do something more than just sit.

"The shuttle's gone, yes?"

"You know it is." He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. "But even if you contacted Zoe through Ethan, the shuttle wouldn't be able to pick him up. She wouldn't be able to –"

Freya interrupted, "Close off all vents to the lower levels. And all the doors into the bay. Then open the internal shuttle door by hand."

His face went from puzzled to understanding in the space of a heartbeat. "Shuttle door's the only one can be winched open," he said softly.

"Only one." She sat down next to him.

"But that'll lose us most our air, Frey. And if life support goes down -"

"I know." She put her hand on his. "Has to be your decision."

Mal gazed at her, the seemingly patient, calm air she was projecting, but he knew underneath it she was as anxious as he was. A physical enemy, intent on separating him from his life, that he could deal with. Serenity turning on him was something he simply wasn't prepared for. "How'll he know? Hank. To come to the airlock? Will you …" He twiddled his fingers by his temple.

She smiled slightly. "No. It doesn't work like that. I can't 'talk' to him."

"You do to me. You did to Ethan."

"I've never talked to Hank like that. And even if I did, it would probably only frighten him out of his wits. He'd think he was going crazy."

"So what do … you …" His voice faded away as his face took on a stern, angry look and he backed up a pace. "No. No and no. You ain't doing that."

"Someone has to go out and get him. I can bring him back into the bay, where he'll at least be safer."

"We won't be able to repressurise." Mal tried hard to get her to understand. "Even if you close the shuttle doorway, you won't be able to get a seal. You'll be stuck in the bay without … no, Frey."

"We'll have access to the extra air packs," she pointed out. "There's enough in there for at least ten hours between us. And that'll give Kaylee enough time to sort things out. Besides, Simon can't go. You know how he gets at the sight of all that nothing."

"Then I'll do it."

"You can't. You have to be available to make decisions. Do captainy things."

"Frey –"

"Can't leave him outside, Mal."

He looked into her eyes, saw the quiet determination there. "Shit."

She smiled. "There I am, risking life and limb, and you're swearing at me."

"Don't, Frey." He took her hand and held it tightly.

She realised he was trembling slightly. "Kaylee will fix it. Even if you go the last resort, she'll make it work."

"Can't do this without you, _ai ren_," he whispered.

"Won't have to."

---

He helped her into the suit while Simon made sure anything that could be tied down was, either in the cages or lashed to the walls. Then he made himself scarce, going to join his own wife on the bridge.

"You go get him and come back, you here?" Mal said, adjusting the pack on her back. "No going off enjoying the scenery."

"No side trips," she agreed, pulling on her gloves.

"And you let me know what you're doing, all the time." He picked up her helmet. "If you don't, well, you ain't too big to be put over my knee."

She let her mouth curve. "You keep promising that, but you never do."

"Well, this time I mean it. And you use the blankets Simon's put in the hideaway. It's gonna be cold in here, and I don't know how long it'll be until Kaylee figures out how to put this to rights."

"You too."

"Hey, you know me. I don't feel the cold."

"No, of course not." She leaned forward and kissed him gently, feeling his lips parting under hers. "Come on." She glanced towards the helmet. "Don't have all day."

He gazed into her hazel eyes then lifted it over her head, pulling the connectors around to get a good seal. She took a deep breath and gave him the thumbs up.

Looking at her through the faceplate, he bit down on the urge to strip the damn suit right off her again, and instead nodded once. He saw her lips form one word, and knew what it was. "Go."

---

"Is this going to work?" Simon asked, lurking in the doorway to the bridge.

"Has to." Kaylee didn't come out from under the console.

"What if -"

"Hand me that connector, will you?" Her hand snaked out from underneath.

The young man stared at the bewildering selection of bits and pieces laid out on the floor. "Which is that?"

"The yellow one. With the black tab."

Simon put the relevant one into her fingers and her hand disappeared again. "But do you think this will work?"

"Course it will," Kaylee assured him, her voice full of confidence. "Course it will." She crossed her fingers and bit her lip until it bled.

---

Freya waited until the upper door had closed, giving him a few more seconds to get a full seal, then she opened the compartment next to the shuttle hatch. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the horizontal handle and tugged. It wouldn't move. Bracing her feet, she pulled again, feeling the muscles in her arms strain and her shoulder joints want to pop.

"Jayne, where are you now, when I need you?" she muttered, groaning with the effort.

There was a click, not a sound but a feeling, and for a split she wondered if she'd torn a ligament, then the handle moved. Mindful of the possibility that she could just tear her suit open if she caught it, she tugged upwards, the handle moving into a vertical alignment. The hatch moved, opening a few inches, and the air rushed out, dragging anything not tied down with it. It was trying to equalise, but in the endless emptiness of space that was impossible. The small window fogged immediately, but she kept tight hold of the handle, feeling as if a hundred hands had grabbed at her and were pulling her towards the gap.

---

Zoe sat forward, seeing the thin plume of air appear and immediately dissipate in the vacuum, debris spinning as it was pulled out. _Not a hull breach_, she prayed. _Please, not that._ Then she realised where it must be coming from.

"Auntie Zoe?" Ethan stood next to her, tears on his cheeks. "Scared," he said, shivering like autumn leaves in a breeze.

She lifted him onto her lap. "Your Mama?"

He nodded, burying his face in her shoulder.

---

Kaylee stood next to Mal, who was pressing his forehead into the small window on the door into the cargo bay, one hand either side. She knew he couldn't see anything, but that didn't stop him staring into the dark.

"She'll be fine, Cap," she said quietly. "She'll be fine."

"Ought to be me going out there," he whispered. "I should have put my foot down."

"Since when did Frey do what you told her?" Kaylee put her hand on his back, feeling his muscles tight, hard, willing all his strength to the woman the other side of the door.

"Since never, _mei-mei_," he admitted. "Just once, though, I wish she had."

"Then you can argue about it when she gets back." She felt him stiffen more. "What is it?"

"She's outside."


	10. Chapter 10

He'd given up. He'd had to. The hatch wouldn't open, no matter what he did, and he'd had to accept it. Now he sat back on the hull, staring at the stars, and pondered what to do next.

He was leaning towards panicking uncontrollably, but did think that should be kept in reserve. Like for when his oxygen tank showed zero, or his ass got frostbite, whichever came first. It even crossed his mind that perhaps he should push off from the plating and see if his momentum could carry him to the shuttle keeping pace with the Firefly.

"And how would Zoe cope with that?" he wondered aloud. "Seeing me heading for her, then splatting across the window like some bug? All wings and intestines." He shuddered. "Probably not a good idea."

Wishing he could ease the irritation caused by the sweat pooling around his waist, he glanced down at the air reading on his wrist again. Less than thirty minutes. So maybe it was time to consider panicking after all.

"I'm gonna miss you," he said softly, watching the shuttle. "Miss Ben growing up. All the other kids we might have had. Then being able to show our grandchildren how to fly, and teach them all the bad habits you won't let me teach Ben." He sighed. "I love you, Zoe."

Then someone touched him on the shoulder.

"Gah!" he screamed, leaping to his feet so fast that he lost contact with the hull, and it was only that someone's fast reflexes stopped him floating away.

The figure waggled a finger in front of him, chastising him, then pulled him closer so he could see through the faceplate.

"Frey?" he yelped.

She smiled at him, the internal lighting illuminating the planes of her face and making her features sharper. She mouthed something, but he couldn't make out what it was.

"What? Can't hear you." He tried to shrug inside the suit, but it barely moved.

She rolled her eyes at him, and he had to smile. Even out here, facing certain death, and she still got annoyed with him. He'd got them all trained well.

She leaned forward so that their helmets were touching, just glass between them.

"Come on. Time to go home," he heard, more like a whisper on a breeze even though he knew she had to be shouting. He nodded and let her take him by the arm.

---

"She's got him," Mal said, relaxing just a degree.

Kaylee grinned. "See? Knew she would."

"Yeah." He closed his eyes, imagining her guiding Hank down the side of his Firefly towards the open hatch, maybe chivvying the pilot along as they went.

"She's one amazing woman," the young mechanic said.

"That she is." He longed to hold her, tell her much he loved her, how proud he was of her, but he couldn't. Truth was, he never told her enough.

_Yes you do_. Her voice, warm and slightly amused, just like her, filled his mind. _I know how you feel._

_Still should tell you._

_You sort this out, and you can._

_It's a deal_, he promised.

"Cap?"

"Nearly there," Mal said.

"Good. Good." She played with a tendril of her hair that had escaped the rough ponytail she'd scraped it back into, a sure sign she was about to break some bad news to him. "Cap'n, me and Simon, we been talking. We think we know what's going on."

"Is it going to help?"

"Maybe."

He turned to look at her, still leaning on the door, closer to his wife somehow if he didn't break contact. "Go ahead."

"What Simon said, about it being a virus … he still thinks that, but now he's wondering if it ain't more like an infection."

"And the difference being …"

"It's trying to take over. Serenity's fighting it all the way - that's why stuff goes down and comes back. But it's too powerful, too strong." She shook her head. "I figure that's why the derelict had so many redundancies, 'cause they knew it was gonna happen. In fact, if my girl were a newer ship, we'd probably be dead by now. What with the things I've done to her, it ain't like she's normal, and I think this virus is finding it harder to take her on."

Mal's mouth twitched, just a little. "You mean the space monkeys did some good after all?"

"Little bit." She flashed a smile. "But I shoulda known when Hank said we were heading back to that ship. Like she's going home to Momma."

"Ain't gonna happen," Mal said firmly. His lips thinned. "Whatever those _hwoon dahns_ at Blue Sun did, they should've blown it to hell."

"Probably thought they could salvage it some time," Kaylee offered. "Fix it."

"So instead they leave it out in the middle of nowhere for someone unsuspecting to come across it." He exhaled heavily. "Wonder how many others did and never survived?"

"We will, Cap'n," she said, taking his arm. "We're gonna survive."

Suddenly the ship shuddered, and Mal looked up, then stared at Kaylee. "What the hell …"

"We're going to burn," she whispered, her eyes wide, horrified. "And I ain't …" She turned on her heels and ran for the engine room.

Mal glanced at the doorway into the cargo bay, his face stricken, then ran the other way, towards the bridge, encountering Simon on the way.

"What was -"

"Doc, with me," Mal ordered, his heart beating wildly in his chest.

---

Zoe sat forward, Ethan still tangled up on her lap, watching as the glow in the aft section of the Firefly began to increase. "What the hell …"

She quickly put the little boy down, turning the shuttle onto an intercept trajectory, then watched in horror as Serenity pulsed and shot forward, her light disappearing into the black.

---

"What do I do?" Simon asked.

"Sit there," Mal said, pointing to the co-pilot's seat even as he slid into the other, "and read off the figures from the centre screen." He punched up a code sequence, then swore violently as nothing happened. If anything the juddering increased.

"Six five nine," Simon said. "Six six four. Six seven … Mal, what's happening?"

"Uncontrolled burn." Mal's voice was tight. "If we don't stop, if Kaylee can't regulate the fuel flow …" He glanced just once at the young doctor.

Simon swallowed and looked back down. "Seven one eight."

---

Kaylee was frantic, opening some valves, closing others, but nothing seemed to work. The noise level in the engine room was increasing, and Serenity was screaming.

"Help me," she pleaded, looking into the spinning heart threatening to tear itself from its gimbals. "Help me."

---

"Mal …" The urgency in Simon's voice got his attention.

"What?"

The young man pointed to something on the screen.

"Shit!" Mal was out of his seat and at the doorway, shouting as loudly as he could down the corridor. "Kaylee! Containment's going down!" He turned back to Simon. "Red button. Keep pressing it. Try and keep it closed." He himself almost fell under the console, pulling open a panel.

Above the hammering of his heart, Simon could hear Serenity whining. "I can't stop it, Mal!"

"That opens up, we're all dead!"

"You think I don't know that?" He pressed the button harder until he felt sure his finger was going to go through the metal. "Do something!"

"Nothing's working …" Mal leaped to his feet and slammed his hand on the com. "Kaylee! Get out of there. Now!"

Simon was up and out of the chair in a moment, shouting, "That doesn't work!" He jumped for the steps, but Mal grabbed him.

"Stay here!"

"It's my wife!"

Mal didn't pause, just hit him, a powerhouse to the chin that had him down on the floor of the bridge, his eyes dazed. "Gorramit! Learn to take orders!" Mal shouted at him as he slammed the door closed and ran down the steps. He pounded along the corridor, swerving around the table in the dining area and into the other passageway. "Kaylee! Get out!"

The mechanic looked up at him, her face white, her fingers still moving so fast they blurred. "I have to vent the systems!" she said, tears of frustration on her cheeks.

"No, Kaylee!" Mal jumped down into the engine room, grabbing her arm. "Bridge. Now, God damn it!" He dragged her towards the door.

"No, Cap!" She threw his arm off, darting back to her console. "It's Serenity …"

"And you ain't gonna burn with her!" He picked her up bodily, the whine of the engine reaching ear-splitting levels.

She struggled. "Let me see to her!"

"No!" Mal drew back his arm, preparing to knock her out, when silence almost floored him, the light from the engine doused as if water had been poured on a fire. "Wha …"

"It stopped." Kaylee peered into the black interior of her engine room. "It stopped."

Mal could feel his heart beating so hard inside his ribs he was sure it was going to break out. "I think I figured that one out myself, _mei-mei_."

She wriggled free, feeling around the floor for the torch, switching it on and hurrying to her console. "Containment's back. And the fuel …" She reached out with a trembling hand and touched the engine, for once not turning. "We're okay. Safe. For the moment."

"And the rest?"

"Most everything else is still offline, Cap," Kaylee said quietly. "Including the power. We're coasting."

"Life support?"

"Auxiliary only."

"Then we've no choice."

She looked at him, the torchlight making her face eerie, even if she wasn't white as a sheet. "Last resort?"

"Last resort."

"And Frey? Hank?"

Mal shook his head. "I don't know." He hadn't looked, hadn't wanted to find out his wife hadn't reached the hatch in time, had been swept from the hull and was somewhere -

_We're inside, Mal._ Freya's voice flooded his mind. _We're both okay._

"Cap?" Kaylee asked, seeing him close his eyes, afraid of the answer.

"They're in the cargo bay."

She grinned suddenly, hugging him. "See? Told you!"

_Put her down_. Freya sounded amused. _And next time you plan on doing that, let me know first._

_I will, xin gan_, Mal promised. _I will._

"Kaylee?" Simon staggered into the engine room. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, honey," she assured him. "We're all okay." Her brows drew down as she saw him holding his jaw. "What happened?"

"I hit him," Mal admitted. "And you can return the favour later, okay? We've got work to do."


	11. Chapter 11

"Cap, I gotta say, there's no guarantee it'll work." Kaylee held back on her anger at Mal hitting her husband, for whatever reason, or however warranted it may have been.

"Don't have a choice. And Wash was convinced it would."

"I been looking at it, checking out what he did." She shrugged. "Maybe it will. But it'll mean turning everything off. Literally. We ain't got main life support now, and there's no guarantee anything'll come back on. And I'm gonna have to use the power from auxiliary life support to push through Wash's system, make it boot up, and –"

Mal put his hands on her shoulders, made her look into his eyes. "Kaylee. If the auxiliary goes down anyway we've got maybe, what, two hours air left? Then we're gone. Doesn't matter if the ship blows up, or the airlocks open. We won't be around to feel it. And Zoe and the kids'll be stranded. If you can come up with another option, fine, I'll be mighty glad to hear it. But right now, this is it. And we don't have time to be putting this to a vote."

She stared into his face, seeing the determination there, and it seemed to transfer from his skin to hers. "_Hao de_," she said quietly.

"Good girl."

She pushed past him and started flicking switches on the panels above her workstation, muttering to herself under her breath. "Need to invert the polarisation in case it tries to … then block the …"

"Anything I need to be doing?" Mal interrupted.

She didn't even look round. "Get to the bridge. If this works, you'll be able to power up, stop us. I'll have to stay here, get her running again by hand."

"You want Simon?"

"Better," Kaylee conceded. "There's more'n I can do alone."

"Doc," Mal ordered.

"In all honesty I think I'd rather stay with my wife anyway," Simon said, rubbing his jaw, the bruise beginning to show already. "I wouldn't want to get punched again."

"That?" Mal smiled. "Just a love tap, doc." He put his hand on the younger man's shoulder and squeezed gently before striding for the bridge.

Simon watched him go, the torchlight bobbing along the corridor. "Does he really believe this is going to work? Do you?" he asked.

"Don't know. I honestly don't." She glanced at him. "'Though I'm thinkin' he kinda has to. Being Captain 'n'all."

"I suppose so." He took a deep breath. "So what do I do?"

---

Mal sat at the controls, his fingers rubbing gently around the yoke. "Now, you don't wanna kill me, do you?" he said softly, only speaking to Serenity. "'Cause there are ways and means to do that, and if you've decided to, then I'd rather you let the others go first. Me, I'll stay on board and you can do what you will with me. And I conjure it ain't gonna be pretty. But you let the others get off first, _dong mah_?"

_Are you talking to yourself again, Mal? _he heard in his brain, and he smiled.

_Hell, no-one else is listening._

_I am._

_I think I've always known that._ He felt her grin, although he'd be hard pressed to say how. _You and Hank somewhere warm?_

Now it was laughter. _I don't think I can honestly say that. We're at the back of the bay, and Hank's counting his fingers to make sure he didn't lose any jumping inside just as you went to burn, but I can't in all truth say we're warm. I've even been looking at Jayne's weights, thinking I could get a set or two in, just to get the old blood pumping, but I decided not to._

_Good idea. Can't have you being muscle-bound._

_So you wouldn't love me if I looked like a female Jayne?_

As much as he tried to suppress the mental image, and the shiver that it set up, he wasn't quick enough, so instead he covered it with bluster. _I think I'd love you no matter what you looked like. Loved you when you were barefoot and pregnant, didn't I?_

_According to Ethan, I looked like a whale,_ she pointed out.

_Only if whales are beautiful._

"Mal."

He looked up, seeing Simon standing at his shoulder. He felt a blush burn up his chest, as if their conversation had been heard by everyone. "Doctor. Everything ready?" he asked, sitting up straighter.

The young man's mouth twitched, having seen the smile on Mal's face as he approached the pilot's chair. He filed it away for later reference. And possible blackmail. "According to Kaylee."

"So what do we do?"

"Nothing. She's hotwired Wash's alterations into the main panel." He pointed to the red button attached to the side of the console. "Hit that, and it runs."

Mal licked his lips, remembering the last time he tried to use it. "That?"

"It doesn't call us back, but maybe it does save us this time," Simon said, nodding gently.

Mal took a deep breath, expelling it slowly. "Okay. And how long after that?"

"Kaylee says five minutes. To be on the safe side."

"Okay." He stared at the button. "Okay."

Simon began to fidget. "Do you want me to –"

"No, no. I'll do it. Just wishing I didn't feel as if I weren't signing my death warrant."

"Believe me, Mal, it's not as bad as it sounds. Not when you have family with you."

Mal looked up in surprise, seeing the friendship on the other man's face. "Guess not." Without another thought, he plunged his hand against the button, and every single light still shining on the boards in front of them died.

---

Freya felt the ship grow silent. Not that there had been any overt vibration, not once the burn had been halted, but somehow it was obvious to her. She could tell there was no power running through the ship at all, and it was clear in the tension level amongst those still on board.

She glanced at Hank. He was sitting back against the bulkhead, his wrists on his knees, as comfortable as possible in the suits they still wore – which wasn't much – and she could detect his thoughts were with Zoe and Ben, and the other children to a lesser extent. He'd figured out what had happened, that the shuttle had been left in the Firefly's wake, but he wouldn't believe that they weren't going back for them. He knew they would, with a strength that almost glowed in the darkness.

Simon had rejoined Kaylee, and they sat together on the lip of the engine, hand in hand. He was listening to his heart beating, feeling the pulse in her fingers synchronising with his, even as he was unconsciously going through the effects of oxygen deprivation in something like too-graphic detail.

Freya winced as he detailed the anatomical changes, one by one, then took a sharp breath as she realised that, with his free hand, he was fingering a hypo in his pocket, and ready to use it if the situation became desperate. He wouldn't allow his wife to suffer, no matter what. Only one dose, though. Freya could feel that, if he had to use it, he was determined to endure every last stroke of agony for doing so.

In contrast, Kaylee was praying. Not to any God, unless it was the God of makers of Fireflies, but just to whatever was out there, praying that she was a good enough mechanic to have understood what Wash had intended, and that she hadn't just killed them all.

Both of them were thinking, on a much deeper, more emotional level, about Bethany and Hope, of seeing them growing up, maybe with children of their own. Of wanting to be there to witness life going on.

And Mal?

He was alone on the bridge, enduring the longest five minutes of his life. What if he was wrong? What if he'd made a mistake, and Wash hadn't been the genius he thought he was? What if when Kaylee went to start the engine again, nothing happened? What if the systems came back on, but the virus hadn't gone? What if –

_Mal._

_Ai ren?_

_Enough._

_My responsibility, Frey._

_You're Captain._

_How come nobody remembers that except when we're facing certain death?_

_That's the thing about death. It's pretty certain, one way or the other._

_I thought you were gonna live forever?_

_Only if you're with me._

_Only you ain't with me. Not right now._

_I'm here._

_Wish you were._

_No. I'm here._

He felt a hand on his shoulder, fingers running up his neck to cup his face. Closing his eyes he turned his cheek so he could place a kiss in her invisible palm. _I love you, Frey._

_I love you too, my darling._

Then, above the sound of nothingness, he heard a voice whispering in the dark.

"It's time," Kaylee said.

He stood up and went to the doorway, sitting on the steps down into the corridor. He couldn't see much, just picking up the flare of the torch occasionally, but he had to be there.

_Hold on_, Freya urged.

_Holding._

Kaylee reconnected various leads, making sure the port pin lock was well-seated, then nodded at Simon, who pushed the main lever into the open position.

Nothing happened.

"_Xiong can wang ba dan de biao zi_," she swore, flicking switches on the console, then climbing up onto the housing to flick some more. "You ain't gonna do this to me!"

"Kaylee –" Simon went to hold her waist, but she had jumped back to the deck.

Mal felt his shoulders tense like granite, and he was holding his breath.

"I don't see why …" Kaylee kicked the regulator cover. "It should …"

"Kaylee, if it isn't going to –"

"No, wait!" Kaylee dropped to the floor, scooting under the engine housing. "I'm _dai ruo mu ji_!" She unscrewed two cables, then reconnected them in opposite order.

There was a groan, followed by the sound of something dying far away in the Firefly's depths, then Simon grabbed her, pulling her roughly out as the central section of the engine began to turn. She leapt to her feet, ignoring the fact that she'd almost been crushed. "Come on," she whispered. "You can do it. I know you can."

The engine stuttered, once, twice, then the recognisable hum began to increase in volume, and the glow behind them lit her face.

"Kaylee …" Simon said, a grin spreading across his features.

"Yes!" she yelled, her voice cannoning off the walls, bouncing around the engine room and rushing up to her husband to hug him tightly. "Yes!"

Captain Malcolm Reynolds, master of the Firefly Serenity, closed his eyes and offered up a prayer himself, just as the lights came back on and he scrambled to his feet, hurrying to turn his ship around.

---

"You can't go to burn, least not yet," Kaylee said, joining him on the bridge a little later. "I need to check her over 'fore that, just to make sure she ain't bust any seals or anything."

"So we limp on back to the shuttle."

"We know where it is?"

Mal tapped the screen. "Just spoke to Zoe and we're picking up the beacon as we speak. It should be a couple of hours at our current speed."

"Just don't push her."

"Don't intend to, Kaylee." He paused, then went on, "When can we open up the bay? Get them out?"

"The seal integrity is good on the hatch," Kaylee said, pushing her hair away from her forehead with the back of her hand, leaving yet another smear of grease on her skin. "But I'd like to leave it a while longer, 'til the pumps've had a chance to get some air inside. Otherwise it'll make it a mite hard for us to breathe too."

"How long?"

"An hour. But it'll be warming up in there too, so they can just get comfy."

"I don't think that's exactly on Hank's mind at the moment," Mal pointed out. "He's more worried about us getting back to Zoe and the kids."

"Hey, me too!" she scolded. "But you asked."

He smiled. "That I did."

"Better be getting back. I'd like to take her down when we hit Persephone, if that's okay with you. Give her a major overhaul."

"Kaylee, right now I'd give you that extra five percent and call you an engineer."

Her eyes widened. "Really?"

"Really. Can't say the feeling'll last, but right now …"

She hit him on the pad of his upper arm, not all that gently, and walked off the bridge.

"Kaylee."

She paused. "Yeah, Cap'n?"

"It did work, didn't it?"

She grinned, jumping down the steps. "Surely did. Wash pulled us outta the fire again."

"Leaf on the wind …" Mal murmured, too quiet for her to hear.

A minute later and the Cortex buzzed.

"Mal?" It was Jayne's face, looking more anxious than he had done in a long time. "You okay?"

"We're shiny," Mal said, smiling. "Just a bit delayed."

"Only River's been in a state fit to be tied, and we had to call in one of Dillon's doctors to calm her down."

"How much did she hurt him?"

"Flesh wound."

Mal laughed. "Well, tell her we're all fine, and we'll be picking you up in a couple of days." A thought stuck him. "Dillon still around?"

"He's about."

"Tell him I'd like to talk to him when we get back. Something he might be interested in hearing."

"Can do, Mal." Jayne leaned in closer, glancing around as if he was afraid someone might overhear. "River said something about something someone might've given you for me?"

"You wait and see, Jayne. You wait and see."


	12. Chapter 12

A Firefly didn't carry weapons. Transport ships rarely did, in case it attracted scavengers and pirates. It was something certain lower levels of society thought humorous, but ship's captains were a superstitious lot, even if they never admitted to it. Mostly they considered that if they couldn't run from danger, or at least talk their way out of it, having a big gun attached to the front of the boat was just asking for trouble.

In this instance, though, Mal almost wished he had something huge to take out the ship hanging darkly in front of them.

"You sure this is gonna work?" he asked Kaylee for the eighteenth time.

"Positive," she said, looking up from where she was making the final adjustments to the timing mechanism.

"And it ain't gonna be able to take it over? Turn it back on us?"

She shook her head. "That's why this is mechanical. No electronic parts at all." She stood up. "Kinda feels old fashioned, but that's worked for us before."

"Okay," he said, still not quite believing her.

She grinned. "Cap'n, these barrels are full of V59." She patted one of the metal containers, trying not to laugh when he winced visibly. "Mix it right with the catalyst and it makes a pretty bang."

"So Dillon said."

"I'm surprised he could get his hands on it, and so much," Kaylee mused. "Being as how he's such a law-abiding person 'n'all."

"I'll have to tell Dillon that you said that," Freya laughed, coming out of the common area towards them, Jesse sitting on her hip. "He'd love to know someone called him law-abiding."

"You mean he ain't?" Kaylee feigned shock. "And him that little girl's godfather at that."

"There are tales in Dillon's past that would take your breath away." She smiled as she remembered. "And definitely outdo any of Hank's books." She sighed. "Ah, happy days."

Mal snorted. "You keep saying that, but you never tell me any."

"I'm keeping them for when we're old and grey and need something new to talk about."

"You mean like next week?"

Her smile widened to a grin. "About right."

Jesse reached out for her father and said, "Dada!"

Mal took her from her mother. "How're you doing, sweetpea?" he asked.

"She needs changing," Freya said, then laughed at the look on his face. "I'm teasing," she added quickly. "We came to see the explosion."

"Should you be encouraging my girl here to enjoy such things?" Mal let his brows draw together. "Ain't exactly feminine."

"Frey ain't," Jayne put in from next to the EVA locker as Zoe helped him with his suit. "Don't see why the half-pint's gonna be any different."

"Jayne, I think I should point out to you, you're perilously close to an airlock," Mal said darkly.

"You wanna explain to River, in her condition, how come her husband's driftin' around the 'verse all on his lonesome?" the big man asked.

"Husband." Mal rolled his eyes. "God, I'd forgotten."

"Well, I ain't. And if you don't get that damn thing into the airlock, I'm gonna go on strike and refuse to deal with it."

"Now, now," Kaylee said. "It's all ready. You just need to push this lever into place, lock it, and run."

"Run?"

"So to speak."

He squinted at her. "How long will I have?"

"Plenty of time. I've set it to fifteen minutes, and it's got grapplers, so even if you miss the open hatch, it'll still stick. Take more time to work, a'course."

"Miss? Ain't gonna miss," Jayne muttered. "'Though I'm still wondering how I got talked into this gorram thing in the first place."

"Because I'm Captain," Mal said. "And don't curse in front of my daughter."

"Too gorram late," Jayne grumbled, then was silenced at Zoe dropped the helmet over his head.

"Thanks," Freya said.

Zoe smiled. "My pleasure."

"Mal, we're in position," Hank's voice reverberated through the cargo bay. "I don't wanna get too close, in case that tractor net's back up."

The short hairs on the back of Mal's neck lifted uneasily. "Any sign of it?"

"Nope. But I ain't doing an active sensor sweep, just in case."

"Then keep us well back." He turned to Jayne. "You ready?" Inside the suit, Jayne read Mal's lips and gave the thumbs up sign. "Then it's time."

Jayne pushed the barrels into the airlock, grunting with the effort, and Kaylee closed it up behind him. As the lights turned red, he opened the outer bay door, glaring out at the AI ship. "You ain't got no idea what's coming," he muttered, scowling. "And it serves you right for nearly killing 'em all."

Kaylee grinned at Mal, who had to smile. Jayne probably didn't care that his com unit was open, and besides, he was right. It was just surprising sometimes to hear how much he cared for his adopted family.

Unaware of the feelings he was engendering, Jayne manoeuvred the payload out through the airlock, moving it easily now it was comparatively weightless. The targeting device Kaylee had set up on it gave him a good lock, and the mercenary in him knew it was going to go in dead centre.

"Got any last requests?" he asked, one eyebrow raised as he paused a moment, like he was expecting an answer. "Nope? Then how about saying goodbye?" He activated Kaylee's timer.

Inside Serenity the mechanic pressed the button on her stopwatch. "Fifteen minutes," she said.

Mal nodded.

Jayne, meanwhile, had checked the cross-hairs one final time, and metaphorically lit the blue touchpaper. With a well-directed shove, he pushed it away from Serenity, the two small booster rockets attached to the back firing after a few seconds. The device sailed towards the derelict, and after what seemed like an age, but was probably no more than a few minutes, it disappeared into the gaping maw left by the blown hatch. Jayne had already turned back into the airlock, not needing proof that his aim was good.

---

"One minute to go." Kaylee had been counting down, even as Hank had eased Serenity further away, until the AI ship hung like a matt black jewel against velvet, absorbing everything. If they didn't know it was there, didn't know the Firefly was facing it, every single crewmember would have said they were alone in space.

Jayne leaned against the wall and picked at one of the calluses on his hands. "So what'll happen? Lots of fireworks?"

"Might be some," Kaylee said softly. "Soon as the catalyst hits the V59 it'll explode, but the real work is done through the amalgam burning through the metalwork. It don't even need oxygen. And if it hits something flammable it'll blow, but I think we're too far away to see much." She almost sounded reproachful.

"Better safe than sorry, _mei-mei_," Mal said, putting his arm around her briefly.

"And I for one ain't getting any closer," Hank added. "Time?"

Kaylee looked at the stopwatch in her hand. "Four, three, two, one …"

Everyone stared out of the window, gazing at the speck of black. And gazed. And then some more.

Jayne shifted uncomfortably. "Ya think it was a dud?"

"I don't see how," Kaylee said, screwing her face up. "Dillon knew what he –"

She stopped as the entire bridge was illuminated by a golden light that retreated almost immediately to a point where the derelict was. Or should have been.

"Wow." Only Hank seemed to have breath to speak as a fireball engulfed the distant ship. "I'd ask if you think you used enough, Kaylee, but I think that would be redundant."

Kaylee's eyes reflected the glow outside. "I didn't think it would … that's pretty …"

"Impressive," Mal finished, hearing Jesse clap her hands delightedly.

"And you said I didn't need to be this far back," Hank added.

"But it shouldn't … I mean, not like that …" Kaylee couldn't stop staring.

"Well, it did," Simon said. "In something of a spectacular fashion."

"Made from hopes and dreams that wanted to burn to freedom," River said softly from the co-pilot's seat.

The others looked at each other, but Jayne just said, quite firmly, "Moonbrain."

She rolled her eyes but explained slowly, "A lot of the connections were highly flammable in order to carry the necessary proto-thought processes. And much of the metal was prone to ignition, particularly the hull."

"Thanks," Mal said dryly. "Okay, it's late," he added, knowing the V59 would continue to burn through the derelict until there was nothing left, then dissipate harmlessly. "I think we've seen all there is to see."

"You want me to set a course back to Persephone? Pick up Gilford and Matty?" Hank asked, stretching the muscles in his shoulders. He still felt cramped, as if he was back in that suit, like it was tight all around him.

Mal shook his head. Zoe had mentioned that the pilot hadn't slept properly since they'd got back. "I'll do it. You go on to your bed."

Hank got quickly to his feet. "You sure?"

"Sure I'm sure. And don't go looking a gift-horse in the mouth."

"Safer than the other end. Oh, sorry, Jayne."

"You callin' me a horse's ass?" the big man growled.

"Did I say that?" Hank managed to look shocked that he was being accused of something so heinous.

"Sure as hell sounded like it." Jayne loomed very convincingly over the other man. "I just put paid to something a lot more intelligent than you, even if it was crazy. You think I can't do the same to you?"

"There's nothing wrong with crazy," River put in. "So I've been told."

"Well, maybe not, girl," Jayne backpedalled. "But I ain't sleepin' with him and his kinda crazy I could do without."

"Bed!" Mal said loudly, drowning out the bickering. "Or I'll decide the septic vat needs scrubbing until you could eat your breakfast off it."

"Mal, that's disgusting," Simon said, wincing.

"Well, that's what you get for riling your captain." He made shooing motions with his hands. "Go!"

"Going," Kaylee said, pushing Simon out in front of her, and collecting Jayne on the way.

"Hey, I ain't one of your kids," he complained.

"And I don't want to be breaking up a schoolyard fight anytime soon," she said determinedly as they walked down the stairs.

Mal shook his head and slipped into the pilot's seat.

"Don't be long," Freya murmured to him, bending down and brushing her lips across his cheek.

He felt himself tremble as he always did at her touch, and smiled. "I won't be," he promised.

She ran her fingers up his neck to his cheek, cupping him for a moment, then was gone.

"Think anyone's going to notice it's disappeared, sir?" Zoe asked, taking one last look at the burning ship as Mal input new co-ordinates.

"They might. Somehow I doubt its makers didn't keep tabs on it. Still, if they come to look see, all they're gonna find is a few bits of twisted metal and some ash. If that."

"And good riddance," Hank added. He twisted his arm around his wife's waist. "Didn't I hear something about bed?"

"You did." She pushed her hand through his untidy brown hair, vainly trying to make it lie flat, then glanced back at Mal. "Goodnight, sir."

"'Night."

As the stars whirled by before settling into a new alignment, Mal heard the last of the footsteps fade away, and sighed in contentment. His sky certainly looked far friendlier now that the derelict was disposed of.

Eventually he turned to look at the young woman still sitting next to him. "Not sleepy, _xiao nu_?" he asked, his toffee voice warm with affection.

River shook her head. "Too many things to think about. Too much to remember to have to think about. And too little time to tell."

"You got everything for the baby?"

She shrugged. "Jayne went shopping."

Mal had to chuckle. "So you've got plenty of ammo and no diapers."

"He had a list."

"And?"

Now she sighed. "He bought three of everything."

The chuckle deepened. "So that's how come he was carryin' all those boxes back on board?"

She nodded. "Afraid we'll run out."

"He's gonna make a good dad, ain't he?"

"You don't have to sound so surprised."

"Hell, I'm not, River. I know how he is with the other kids. It's just … you know … Jayne …"

"I know." She smiled and rubbed her belly.

"So … was your bro right?" Mal asked, somewhat tentatively. "They were trying to build a psychic brain?"

"I don't know," River admitted. "But from a certain point of view it would make sense. What they did at the Academy, to Freya, to me … it loosened our hold on reality. Perhaps they considered it more effective if they created one from scratch, and that would give them perfect control."

"That's what Simon said."

"And when it went wrong, it did so on a much bigger scale." She looked at him, her dark eyes huge in the subdued light. "Sam Nazir said once that he had treated a number of people with abilities, and he wondered whether it was possible for a psychic to be truly sane. Perhaps he was right. Perhaps being crazy is the price we have to pay to be a Reader."

"And Bethany? Ethan?" He swallowed. "What about them?"

"They have us." She said it simply, a statement that everything would be better for them because of their family. He had to agree.

"Surprised that brain didn't send the crew mad," he went on, glad to be back to a safer topic.

"Maybe it did. Who's to say the ship killed them? Perhaps they killed each other, and blew the hatch themselves."

"Do you know this, or are you just guessing?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at her.

"An informed opinion. But who knows? Maybe Blue Sun wanted to try and control the Reavers with it."

He shuddered. "That, albatross, is one of the scariest ideas I think I've heard."

"It is." She laughed. "I think I've just scared myself." After a minute's more silence, she said, "Dillon didn't want you to destroy it, did he?"

Mal shrugged. "Let's just say he took a little persuasion."

"_It's proof, Mal. Proof those lying hwoon-dahns have been interfering longer than anyone realises. Even before Miranda."_

"_And how do we get that proof to anyone, Dillon?" Mal asked, sitting back in the comfortable chair, warming his hands in front of the fire, remembering what had nearly happened to him, to his crew, to his wife and children out in the cold darkness of space …_

"_You know where it is. You said."_

"_And anything that goes near it probably ends up a pile of blown apart junk."_

"_But we can –"_

"_No. We can't. And you're gonna help me destroy it."_

"_But that won't –"_

"_It's sat there, like some kinda spider in the middle of a web for God knows how long, and I don't have a notion as to how many other poor bastards it's caught. But it won't catch any more."_

"He was thinking of Breed nearly dying," River said softly. "Of Freya, of Kaylee … He thought it would lend weight to the argument that Blue Sun were responsible." She shivered, as if someone had walked over her grave.

"Come here." Mal held out his hand, and she got to her feet, ungainly now, even in the couple of weeks she'd been gone from Serenity. She crossed the bridge and settled carefully into his lap.

"Too heavy for you," she whispered.

"Nope. You're not. No heavier than Frey when she was carrying. In fact, if memory serves, quite a bit lighter."

River giggled. "I'll tell her you said that."

"I'd take it as a kindness if you didn't. I'm kinda attached to all my extremities."

"Then I won't."

"Anyway," Mal went on, "you keep going around telling everyone I'm your Pa, so that little baby in there's my grandchild. Well, kind of."

"He's going to call you Granpa," River said, leaning her head on Mal's shoulder.

"In your dreams." He grunted softly. "That'll be for Ethan and Jesse's kids, and not for a long time yet."

"More than that. Granpa," River repeated, and was rewarded by him glaring at her.

"No."

"We'll see."

Unfortunately Mal was pretty sure he wasn't going to win this argument, so he changed tack to something that had been bothering him somewhat. "So what exactly did Wash's whatchamathing do?"

"Ate the bad guys."

Mal looked at her under his eyebrows. "Ate them?"

"More or less. It compared the infected programmes and systems with previously held examples, and destroyed each piece of different code. Obliterated them from the hard structure and rebuilt any sections that were damaged by cloning from adjoining lines."

He nodded, not understanding half of what she said. "So it ate them."

"Exactly."

"Sounds like it should've taken a lot longer than five minutes."

"Actually, it was done within the first two, but Kaylee always was conservative." She gazed contemplatively out of the window. "It wasn't actually possessing Serenity, you know."

"Sure felt like it. And I have a severe problem with some kind of intelligence trying to take over my boat."

"Not an intelligence. Not really. The things that were happening were a response, not pre-ordained."

Mal sighed. "River, as you can tell, I ain't exactly feeling too bright this evening, so I'd be beholden if you'd only use words of one syllable. For the sake of my health," he added.

"It was more … a memory. Of how it was supposed to be before Blue Sun pushed too far and damaged it. Perhaps even of how it wanted to be. Of the power it could have known." She looked down at her belly. "Simon was right. An infection, growing and spreading from one open wound to another."

His nostrils flared. "That's … pretty disgusting, even for you," Mal pointed out.

She smiled winningly at him. "You've been through a war, been shot, stabbed, beaten up more times than you care to admit … seen both your children born … and you still find images disgusting?"

"Only from you, albatross. And you missed out watching Jayne eat."

"He could take offence at that."

"He ain't here."

"Wanna bet?" growled the big man from the shadows in the doorway. "And is there something going on here I need to worry about?"

Mal turned the chair so he could look at the mercenary. "Yes, Jayne. You've found us," he deadpanned. "River and I are going to run away together and start a new life."

"If I even begun to think that might be true, Serenity'd be missing a captain." Jayne crossed the floor and lifted his wife into his arms. "Pair of you need to come to bed now," he said gently, glancing down at her swollen stomach.

She followed his gaze, and tilted her head slightly as if she was listening. Then she smiled. "That will be acceptable," River said, putting her arms around his neck as he took her back to their shuttle.

Mal chuckled and turned back to the controls. Setting the autopilot quickly, he ran his hands lovingly across the console and up the neck of one of the dinosaurs still sitting there.

"Wash, I can't help but think you were watching out for us," he murmured. "Only reason we're still around is 'cause of your system. _Your_ modification, Wash. Wouldn't've survived otherwise." He nodded once. "Thanks." He waited for a moment, to see if there'd be a ghostly _you're welcome_, but there was nothing. Just the sound of his Firefly, powering through the black.

Mal stood up and stretched. Time to get to his bed. And his wife. She was probably already asleep, knowing her. Unless she made an effort, she was in dreamland as soon as her head hit the pillow, so there was no chance of getting amorous now. Unless he made a lot of noise climbing down the ladder. Perhaps he could knock something over …

"Oh, and I promise, next time we're near anything resembling a toy store, I'll buy you a new dinosaur." Now he could have sworn he heard a laugh from a blond, Hawaiian-shirted pilot. Smiling to himself he left the bridge.

On the console behind him, a single light under the foot of the plastic stegosaurus winked and went out.


End file.
